Cheryl wasn't proud enough to call herself a perfect girlfriend, no matter how much Toni claimed she was. But she had to give herself a pat on the back for the things she did to make Toni smile. It was the brunette's last weekend of punishment for punching Moose in the face last month after the dance. She'd served too many Saturday detentions for both their liking, but it was finally over and Saturdays were theirs again. For the past few Saturdays that Toni had detention, the only interaction they got was Cheryl calling her early in the morning to make sure she woke up and wasn't late.
Around 3:30, seated in her Impala in the student parking lot, Cheryl waited with a bag of food from Pop's and two milkshakes. She kept the heat running in the car as she nibbled on a few of her fries, looking at the door to see if students had been let out yet. There weren't too many other cars in the parking lot besides hers and Toni's. According to Toni most of the weekends she went in for detention, she was surrounded by freshmen who got caught smoking in the bathrooms, or other things they thought would make them seem edgy and cool.
A smile came to her face when she saw a small group of students start to file out of the main doors, keeping her eyes on the girl in the high-waisted jeans and black puffy coat. She bit her lip as Toni walked towards her car, getting excited like a puppy when the brunette got close enough for her to make out a smile on her face. She gestured to the passenger side door, watching as she followed her instructions and got into the car beside her.
"Happy last day of detention," she giggled, handing her the brown bag, "Figured you might be hungry."
"You're unreal," Toni shook her head with a laugh, immediately digging into the fries, "Thanks, babe."
Cheryl nodded, sitting sideways in her seat as she watched her girlfriend with a smile. "I thought we could go do something today? Maybe go to Greendale or just drive around?"
"That sounds great, but I'm fucking exhausted," she frowned, "Weatherbee had us in there working twice as hard as the janitors. Like scrubbing graffiti from the bathroom stalls and mopping the cafeteria."
"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know, I-"
"No, it's okay. I just wanna go home to shower and maybe take a nap or something first if that's okay?"
"Of course that's okay. We don't have to hang out today, TT. It's not like either of us are going anywhere," Cheryl pushed her glasses up with a bit of a smile.
"I still wanna spend time with you, babe. Even if I wanna take a nap, I'd rather nap with you than nap alone," she smirked, chuckling at Cheryl's blush before sipping her melted chocolate shake, "I can drive if you don't mind if I eat first."
The redhead nodded, making sure there were no students walking by before leaning over to kiss Toni's cheek, smiling when she giggled in her ear. She didn't mind waiting. She didn't mind whatever they did, she was just happy to be with her. They sat in the warm car while Toni ate her burger, talking about the brunette's theory about Weatherbee's fucked up views on child labor or Cheryl's parents doing god knows what kind of business around town.
"Seriously, what if your dad is secretly some kind of all-powerful mobster? And he's out there committing crime after crime while passing himself off as a saint who can do no wrong," Toni laughed at the possibility, "I mean, come on, what kind of pastor needs business partners?"
"I think you've seen that Goodfellas movie a few too many times," Cheryl chuckled, "The business was my grandfather's. It's being put in his name whenever my nana passes."
"Oh right, the maple syrup business," Toni nodded, remembering that Cheryl had told her about her family's company just after she met her Nana Rose.
"Yeah. I guess he's not supposed to get involved in it, with him being a 'man of God' and everything," she held up air quotes with a roll of her eyes, "But he's Clifford Blossom, the most righteous man in town. He can do what he wants."
"Ugh," Toni rolled her eyes as well, crumpling up the brown paper bag as she finished her burger, "You ready?"
Cheryl nodded, making sure she had everything before getting out of the car, locking it behind her and getting into the passenger seat of Toni's Corolla. "I could have driven to Pop's so you don't have to drive all the way back here to drop me off again," she buckled her seatbelt, looking over at Toni as she started the engine.
"It's not a big deal, Cher. If anything, it just means I get you to myself for a few minutes longer," she bit her lip, smirking at the pink tint that covered her girlfriend's face. Three months together and she still had the ability to make the redhead giggle like a school girl.
Leaning back comfortably in her seat, Cheryl stared out the window as Toni drove, listening to her quietly singing along to the classic rock on the radio as they made their way from North Riverdale to South. She loved how with Toni, her worries about school and her parents withered away to practically nothing. She wasn't worried about what people at school would say or what her parents would do if they found out about them. Sure, the worry was still there in the back of her head, but in moments like these, all she thought about was how she never imagined herself so happy.
The bumps of the car going over the train tracks and onto the rocky pavement broke her from her thoughts. The small billboard for Sunnyside coming up on her right brought her an odd sense of comfort. She felt more comfortable in a trailer park full of bikers and gang members than in her own home.
She followed Toni through the cheap metal door, letting the warmth from the whistling heater relax her as she took off her jacket and set her bag down by the door.
"I'm just gonna go shower, I'll be right back out. You can make yourself comfortable," the brunette pecked her lips gently. An invitation to join her was on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it back down, not wanting to pressure the redhead. They hadn't done much of anything since the first morning of the new year nearly three weeks ago, so naturally she was eager.
"Okay," Cheryl shyly pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, reminding herself to go get them tightened again soon. She watched Toni walk off to the bathroom before taking off her sneakers. The bottoms of her jeans were cold and wet from the snow on the ground, she couldn't really nap in jeans anyways. Crossing the kitchen and into Toni's room, she shed the blue jeans and her sweater, looking for something more comfortable to wear. She wanted to wear Toni's yellow hoodie. It was her favorite. Unable to find it, she sighed and pulled on one of her long night shirts with Garfield on the front, picking up her jeans to bring them to the dryer. Down the short hallway, she placed them in the machine, setting it for a simple thirty minute cycle, figuring that would be enough to dry them.
Cheryl was about to turn back to go get comfortable in Toni's bed when sunlight peeked through the slightly cracked door at the end of the hall. She'd never seen that door open before. Toni said it was just her uncle's room, but to leave it alone because he liked his privacy. That door was always shut, so seeing it open piqued her curiosity.
Biting her lip, she looked back at the bathroom door tip-toeing carefully across the linoleum until the light through the crack was on her face. She peered through, her eyes adjusting to the sunlight coming through the tattered blinds. After opening the door the tiniest bit more, quiet gasp escaped her lips as she felt herself stiffen. Snakes. Everywhere. Serpent memorabilia covered the walls. Leather jackets and torn denim vests were strewn about, photos and tapestries hung on the walls. She didn't think there was a single thing in the room that didn't have some kind of snake on it. Even the multiple sets of brass knuckles on the dresser were decorated with them.
"What are you doing?" Toni's voice made her jump back in shock, her shoulder blades hitting the wooden doorframe behind her as she turned to see her girlfriend dressed in only a towel, her brown eyes wide. In any other situation, she would be blushing like an idiot, but she was too worried about the gang shrine in front of her.
"Th-the door was cracked open, I-" she stammered, her body starting to shake in fear. She'd heard stories about the Southside Serpents. They were monsters, they were cold-blooded killers. She heard they once jumped and stabbed a Northsider just for setting foot on their territory. Toni reached past her and closed the door, holding the towel against her chest. Not even the smell of her body wash could get Cheryl to calm down right now.
"Why did you go in there?" the brunette asked her sharply, brushing wet damp hair off her own neck.
"I-I told you, the door was open," Cheryl's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.
"I told you not to go in my uncle's room, Cher! Do you know what he'd do if he found out anyone was in here?"
"So you're aware that your uncle is obsessed with the Southside Serpents? You know they kill people, right? Like, for no reason?" she snapped defensively.
"He's not obsessed with the Serpents, he is a Serpent," Toni snapped back, watching as Cheryl's jaw slackened a bit, "And they don't kill people for no reason. You're thinking of the Ghoulies."
The redhead stared at her incredulously as they stood on opposite walls of the narrow hallway.
"A-are you-"
"I'm not a Serpent," she cut her off, shaking her head, "But they're...my family."
Cheryl stood in stunned silence, wondering how any of this could even be possible. Toni always portrayed herself as some kind of north side princess like Veronica and Josie. It came as a shock when she found out that she lived on the south side of town, but to find out that her uncle was part of a dangerous gang? Cheryl couldn't even think of what to say.
"Come on," the brunette sighed, taking her hand to lead her to her bedroom.
Cheryl sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, still shaken at everything she'd seen just minutes ago. She stared at her girlfriend as she changed into a loose tank top and shorts, her heartbeat picking up speed as she combed out her hair, starting to explain.
"My uncle's a Serpent, my parents were Serpents, my grandpa was one of the founders back in the 60's before he died," Toni muttered as she ran the comb through her damp wavy hair, standing a few feet away from Cheryl. "I was literally born into the Serpents. I was born in the basement of the Whyte Wyrm during someone's initiation."
Cheryl felt like her jaw was going to drop to the floor as if she were a cartoon character.
"My uncle is pretty much second in command to the guy who took over for my grandpa. He would have been the leader if he didn't have to take responsibility for me after my parents died. But since I was old enough to take care of myself, he's able to go out of town for business."
"Why is he never around if the gang is based in Riverdale?" Cheryl asked, her mind swirling with questions.
"I don't know. He can't tell me. It's just...Serpent business."
"A-and what about the murders...?"
"I'm not gonna tell you that the Serpents aren't dangerous, Cher. It's a gang, of course it's dangerous. But they don't hurt anyone unprovoked. They're dedicated to protecting each other. They're a family. They're my family. They look after me and keep me safe since I'm living by myself here most of the time. Hell, they even help me out financially when my uncle can't get enough money for bills."
"S-so you're not...you're not one of them?"
"I mean, not officially," the brunette walked over to the bed, sitting beside her on the edge, "But if I was...would that change anything?"
"No," she answered quickly, shaking her head, "No, TT, of course not."
"So what does it matter if my uncle is?" she leaned in closer, stroking her pale cheek.
"I guess it doesn't...it's still surprising, though. My parents have always told me a bunch of horrible things about the Serpents, I just-"
"Your parents also told you that looking at another girl for too long would guarantee you a seat in hell," Toni chuckled, "And you don't believe that, do you?"
She hesitated in answering, unsure if she even believed there was a hell. If she did, she believed that it was a place where bad people went. She wasn't a bad person just for being in love with a girl. "I guess not," she shook her head, leaning into the warm palm against her cheek.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It's not really something I talk about a lot, knowing the reputation they have," Toni sighed, laying down with her against the pillows.
"The drunk driver who killed my brother was a Serpent," the redhead mumbled quietly as Toni pulled the comforter up over them, biting her lip as she looked at her, "But...that's just what my parents said."
Toni was quiet as she got comfortable beside her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, gently pulling the glasses off of Cheryl's face, setting them on the nightstand and placing soft kisses over her eyelids, "I'm really sorry."
Cheryl kept her tears at bay, not wanting to cry in front of her again. She was so tired of crying in front of her girlfriend. She just wanted to be happy. "Can we just sleep and stay in for today?" she opened her eyes when she felt Toni's head on the pillow beside her, "I know you're tired from detention."
"Whatever you want, baby," the brunette kissed her slowly, wrapping her in her comforting embrace.
xxx
Even after finding out about Toni's family secret, Cheryl still preferred the comfort of her trailer over the gloom of her own large house. Just pulling up to the driveway after Toni dropped her off back at school had her muscles tensing up. Sighing, she walked up the front steps of her house, wiping her shoes on the mat before going through the front door. She wasn't immediately engulfed in warmth like she was when she stepped into Toni's trailer.
Speaking of her parents, she was surprised to see that they weren't home yet. Maybe they went out to dinner or had another business meeting. She could hear the fireplace crackling in the living room after she closed the door behind her. The fireplace wasn't supposed to be running if no one was home. Turning the corner, she found her mother standing in front of the raging fire, her back turned to her as she seemed to stare into the flame.
"Mommy?" she asked timidly, making herself known without scaring the older Blossom, "Are you okay? Where's Daddy?"
"Helena was changing your bed sheets today, Cheryl," the woman started, her tone ominous as she kept her back turned. Even with the fire raging under the chimney, Cheryl felt like the room was ice cold. She watched as her mother turned around, a glass of wine in one hand and her sketchbook in the other. "She found this under your mattress."
Her heart dropped.
"I-it's just my sketchbook, Mommy. Y-you know I like to draw..."
"Yes, but this," Penelope put her glass down so she could flip through the pages, turning the book disgustedly in her hands, "This isn't art, Cheryl, this is pornography." The younger redhead could feel her throat closing up as she looked at the page her mother showed her. It was a sketch she'd done just a few weeks ago of Toni's bare figure, drawing from memory on a night when she missed her terribly. Thankfully she'd left out her face.
"And this?" Penelope flipped through a few more pages, her face twisted in displeasure as she showed Cheryl the detailed drawings of Toni's face, "I thought we told you to stay away from that trashy Topaz girl. Why, after five years of public schooling, are you choosing to act out and defy us?"
"Mommy, I only spend time with her when we have meetings for the Blue and Gold," Cheryl tried to reason with her, "I have sketches of Betty and myself in that book, too. I just draw what comes to mind."
"Well, if that girl is on your mind as much as this book shows, there's a boarding school in Switzerland that would be happy to rid you of your deviant ways. Do you have any idea how furious your father would be if he saw this?"
Cheryl could feel the walls closing in on her. She was grateful that she had taken the photo strip from the ski lodge out of her pillow case and put it into the cassette case with the mix tape from Toni in her backpack. If they had found that, she would be halfway to that boarding school by now. "Mommy, I'm sorry. Can I please have my sketchbook back?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes as her mother slammed the book shut.
"I don't know what's going on with you, Cheryl, but I pray that God has mercy on your soul when you greet him at the pearly gates," her mother's voice shook with an emotion that Cheryl couldn't place.
She was going to speak again, but only a cry of internal pain came out when her mother tossed the book carelessly into the fire. She watched with tearful eyes as the flame grew higher as it burned up the pages she'd worked tirelessly on some nights; Pages she'd cried over as she prayed for the book to swallow her up, letting her live with the characters she drew from the fairytales she loved so much. All her hard work, her passionate sketches and memories were gone, soon to just be charred remains at the base of the chimney.
"Go to the closet, Cheryl," her mother spoke from behind her as tears slipped down to the floor.
Her tears of sadness quickly turned to tears of anger. She tried to keep it in, but it was eating her alive. She wanted to scream at her mother and tell her the truth about everything. She wanted to tell her that despite all their attempts to keep her as straight as an arrow, she'd liked girls for as long as she could remember. She wanted to rub it in her face that she was in love with the girl they hated. And she wanted to scream at her mother that the girl they hated made love to her just two feet from where she was standing.
But she kept it in, just letting her tears fall as she did what she was told. If she were the only one at risk, she would have taken whatever punishment her mother could throw her way. But she didn't want to put Toni in danger. Regardless of the fact that she had the Serpents as her protection, Cheryl knew what her father was capable of.
Sniffling, she walked slowly to the closet in the hallway, kneeling on the floor obediently and lighting a few of the candles.
"Your father will be home shortly. I want Leviticus 20:13 written one hundred times in your notebook before your bedtime. One hundred times in cursive and I won't tell him about what Helena found today," Penelope closed the door, locking her in as Cheryl quickly reached for one of the notebooks on the shelves, hastily getting to writing. Tears fell onto the paper as she wrote with a shaky hand, pulling her necklace out from under her sweater to clutch at the gold 'T' on the end of the chain.
"If man lies with man as one does with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They are to be put to death, their blood shall be upon them."
She wrote it out shakily. She had it memorized from how many times her parents made her recite it. It was burned into her brain, forever haunting her. But she wrote it out until the words stopped making sense, the letters were just swirly lines, and her eyes hurt from the dim candlelight.
xxx
She lost track of how many times she'd written out the verse. For all she knew, she had written it 200 times. She just wrote it over and over again until her mother let her out, the hallway lights nearly blinding the youngest Blossom when the door was opened. Penelope allowed her to get a glass of water before sending her straight up to bed, forbidding her from eating dinner for the night. Thankfully she had leftover pizza before leaving Toni's earlier that evening.
She tried to keep her sniffling to a minimum as she sat against her headboard. This house was like a prison. Her father always preached about hell and what it was like, but there were times she wasn't sure it could be any worse than her own house.
As exhausted as she was, she waited until she could hear her father's snoring through the walls to leave her room. Her mother must have been honest about not telling him about the sketchbook, otherwise she would have surely heard about it from him by now. But the sound of his snoring was comforting as she slipped out of her bedroom. Her flannel pajamas were clinging to her skin from the dry air and static as she padded down the stairs to the kitchen. Just in case, she kept the lights off, dialing the number on the telephone before closing herself in the pantry like always. She thought it was strange that being locked in one closet in her house was so traumatizing for her, while another made her feel so safe.
Sniffling quietly, she wiped at her eyes under her glasses, listening to the continuous ringing in her ear.
"Hey," Toni yawned into the phone. It was a little bit later than when she would normally call. Not to mention a day early. She tried to bring herself to greet her, but her eyes squeezed shut instead as her chest tightened. She brought a hand up to cover her mouth, muffling the heavy sob that came from deep within her. "Cher? Baby, what's wrong? What happened?"
Cheryl cried into her palm, her glasses fogging from the hot tears in her eyes. She was an expert at silent tears, but she just couldn't hold it in anymore. She felt like she was going to explode. She wanted to cry and scream, but she couldn't. Not now.
Toni soothed in her ear as the redhead took a deep, shaky breath.
"I-I just wanna get out of here. I hate it here. I hate my parents, I hate this town," she whispered harshly as her body shook against the shelf of canned goods.
"You're freakin' me out, babe, what happened?"
"Everything, Toni!" her voice raised only slightly, but it only made her cry more now that she felt the immediate guilt of snapping at her girlfriend, "I just wish we could run away from Riverdale."
"I wish we could too, but...you've got people to stick around for. Your friends, your nana..."
The redhead wiped her eyes again, ducking her head against her bent knees as she kept the phone pressed to her hear. "My mom found my sketchbook," she whispered, sniffling quietly as her ragged breathing started to even out.
"Shit."
"She didn't tell my dad, but...there was so much in there. Years worth of practice and effort...it was like my diary, and now it's gone," heavy tears slipped down her cheeks, feeling her hair start to stick to her forehead. Apparently she'd been crying hard enough to work up a sweat.
"She didn't hurt you, did she?"
"When I got home, sh-she locked me in the...the closet. And I had to write this heinous bible verse over and over again for hours. She just let me out about an hour ago," she whispered, trying not to cry again as the verse echoed tauntingly in her head.
"I dropped you off to get your car five hours ago, Cheryl, she had you in there all that time?"
She nodded as she continued to cry, aware that Toni couldn't see it. But she didn't really need her to confirm it.
"Do you wanna come back over here for the night?"
"No, TT, it's late and I have to be at church in the morning."
"Then I'll come there."
"Toni, are you crazy?"
"Not to stay the night, I'm not an idiot. I just wanna make sure you're okay."
"I'm okay..."
"I'll believe it when I see it. I'll be there in fifteen."
"Ton-" the click of Toni hanging up her end of the phone was followed by the dull dial tone. She loved Toni, but she couldn't help but question her sanity sometimes.
She wiped her eyes and stood up, balancing herself on one of the wooden shelves behind her before leaving the pantry and hanging up the phone. She glanced around nervously, wondering what to do. Toni was stubborn and she was going to come over whether Cheryl liked it or not. But she meant well.
She paced around the dark kitchen, wondering if she should wait downstairs for her to come to the door. None of the rooms in the house gave her a view of the front yard except for the living room. Her fingers shook as she bit her nails. The pounding of her heart was so loud in her ears she was worried that it would wake her parents up all the way upstairs.
Taking a deep breath, she climbed the stairs again, her wobbly legs nearly tripping her on the way up. She didn't want to risk getting caught out of her room. Toni wasn't stupid, she wouldn't go to the door, right?
She sat impatiently on her bed, listening for the sound of Toni's clunky car outside. Her arms were nearly numb from nerves as she stared at the clock on her nightstand. The fifteen minutes were passing unreasonably slow and she still hadn't heard a car outside. She was about to check to see if Toni was waiting at the front door for her when she heard the lightest tap on her window, making her flinch in the barely lit room.
Toni was right outside her window, wrapped up in her black puffy coat. Cheryl suddenly recalled the trellis right below her window that was normally covered with vines and flowers in the warmer months.
Her girlfriend was definitely insane.
With her jaw slacked, she scrambled off her bed to the window, unlatching it and pushing the pane up. The cold January air was coming into her room but she just couldn't bring herself to care.
"Have you lost your mind?" she whispered harshly despite her uncontrollable giggling, pulling her in through the window and refusing her the time to answer as her lips met hers.
"Would you have been able to sleep if I called you crying like you were to me?" the brunette whispered against her lips.
"No...I guess not," she sighed, quickly finding contentment in her girlfriend's embrace. She kissed her again, walking back towards her bed with her, not even caring that Toni was tracking dead leaves and melted snow across the rug. She still couldn't believe that she showed up at her window like something out of a romance novel.
"I can't stay long, I don't want you to get in trouble," the brunette whispered as Cheryl pulled her down onto the large bed, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Cheryl's rapidly beating heart fluttered in her chest. She couldn't even bring herself to stop kissing Toni long enough to respond. Her tanned cheeks were cold against her warm, trembling fingers, sending a shiver down her spine. "I love you so much, TT," she hummed breathily into the kisses, pulling her closer as the former Vixen hovered over her.
"I love you too, babe, but I think I should go before you get too carried away," Toni giggled quietly, trying to suppress a needy groan as Cheryl's hips bucked up against hers. Cheryl pulled away from the heated kisses with a pout, grinning a bit shyly when Toni planted one last peck to her lips. "Here, take this off," the brunette flicked one of the buttons of her flannel pajama top, sitting up beside her as she unzipped her black jacket.
Cheryl sat up, confused, but did as she said, unbuttoning the top slowly and sliding it off. She was wearing a black tank top underneath just in case she got too warm in the middle of the night. Watching curiously, she bit her lip as Toni slipped the puffy coat off her arms, revealing the yellow hoodie they were both so fond of underneath.
She pulled the hoodie off, adjusting it in her hands and holding it up to Cheryl, giving her a gentle, wordless command to hold her arms up. The redhead could read her actions like a book. A blush took over her cheeks as she held her arms up, letting Toni carefully pull the hoodie over her head, dressing her like a child and pecking her lips once she was securely in the oversized sweatshirt.
"That better?"
She nodded her head, still biting her lip shyly as she mumbled a quiet, "Mmhm," and leaned up to kiss her again, "Will you lay with me for a few minutes before you go?"
Toni glanced at her bedroom door, a bit unsure. But one look into Cheryl's deep brown eyes and she was putty. Nodding her head, she slipped off her boots and climbed higher up onto the bed, letting the redhead guide her up to the pillows so she could lay comfortably with her.
Always the clingy one, Cheryl nuzzled her face into Toni's neck, sighing contently against the warm skin. The yellow fabric she was swimming in smelled like that unique mixture of cucumber melon and Chanel. The smell that she could only describe as 'Toni'. In her excitement to see her girlfriend, Cheryl had forgotten how exhausted she was. But being wrapped up in nothing but loving warmth had her red, swollen eyes slipping closed already, unable to resist the temptation to sleep any longer.
Toni ran her fingers through her hair as her breathing evened out. She wished she could whisk Cheryl away from this house of horrors. Aside from Jason's room, what did she have here? She kissed her warm temple a few times, reaching under the hoodie and tank top she had on to rub the bare skin of her back. She could feel her own eyelids starting to close, but she urged herself to get up before she fell asleep, not wanting to get Cheryl into any more trouble.
She slid out of Cheryl's embrace, smiling a bit at her sleepy whine of displeasure as she put her coat and boots back on.
"TT?"
She turned around to face her girlfriend, seeing her eyes barely open as she looked up at her. "I gotta get going, babe," she whispered, crossing the small space to crouch in front of her, brushing hair back from her face as she pouted in her half-asleep state.
"M'kay, I love you," Cheryl murmured, her eyes slipping closed again as Toni kissed her forehead.
"I love you too, baby," she stood up to pull the comforter higher up her body, kissing her forehead one more time and slipping back out the window, closing the pane behind her before climbing down and walking back to her car at the end of the driveway.