Chapter Eight
IT was two weeks after homecoming and everything was perfect, too perfect for Toni's liking. Toni fears that she will screw things up. She had taken Cheryl to Pop's and that evening had even ended with a kiss on the lips. The taste of her cherry lipstick was unforgivable and the lipstick stains were a work of art.
In some way, like the theme of the homecoming: happily ever after, this was their happily ever after. They were finally together and happy. Though they both have been keeping a secret from one another, Cheryl is depressed and hides it with a fake smile while Toni knows otherwise. There is no simply happily ever after unless you were a princess or a very lucky person.
And Toni wasn't a lucky person (she was more of an unlucky person), as currently, she is watching her girlfriend packing for a trip to Hell. (Kidding, just an annual Blossom dinner party but same thing.)
"Babe, you look fine." Said Toni. She was sitting on the edge of Cheryl's bed next to Cheryl's suitcase, watching Cheryl stand in front of a mirror examining a dress.
Cheryl sighed and ruffled her hair using her free hand. "My outfits need to be stylish and chic or my relatives will bitch about it." She said as she put the dress back on the rack and grabbed a red blouse and black pants.
"How does this look?" Asked Cheryl, turning around to show Toni.
"It looks good." Said Toni, nodding in approval. Cheryl threw the piece of outfit to her and Toni caught it, Toni got off the bed and started folding the clothes.
Toni folded the clothes and carefully tack them above the pile in the suitcase. Toni sighed as she looked at Cheryl who was looking in the mirror. Toni walked toward Cheryl and stood behind her, wrapping her hands around her waist and putting her head on Cheryl's shoulder.
"What is it, TT?" Asked Cheryl, directing her gaze at Toni.
Toni frowned and said, "I hate watching you like this, Cheryl. You look gorgeous in every one of these outfits and who cares about your relatives."
Cheryl smiled softly and kissed her on the cheek before replying, "Okay, fine. I will stop debating on what to wear and instead, let's focus on something else."
Toni wiggled her eyebrows and smirked, "Like what?"
Cheryl simpered flirtatiously. She unwrapped Toni's arms around her waist and held her hand. "Oh~ I can think of a lot of ways-" Said Cheryl.
Cheryl's door opened and Penelope walked in with a displeased expression at the sight of Cheryl and Toni together. Cheryl glanced over and straightened her posture, still holding Toni's hand.
"Mother! What are you doing here?" Asked Cheryl, with a mocking tone.
"What am I doing here? I live here, for Goodness' sake, Cheryl." Scorned Penelope. She looked over at Toni and her eyes narrowed. "I should ask you the question, dear, what are you doing here... at my house?" Asked Penelope.
"Um-" Muttered Toni. Toni glanced at Cheryl who half- smiled and nodded at her. Toni continued speaking, her voice higher this time, "Mrs.Blossom, your daughter invited me to help her packing for the trip. Is that... so bad?"
Penelope snorted and rolled her eyes at Toni, "Hmm. It's better nothing more than friends." She redirected her attention back to Cheryl and said, "Are you done packing yet? We need to leave soon if we want to make it on time."
Cheryl raised her eyebrows and asked, "Anything else, mother? If not, please leave."
Penelope rolled her eyes at Cheryl and scrunched up her nose before leaving the room, slamming the door shut. Cheryl rolled her eyes and sighed, looking at Toni.
"You know, I-I wouldn't mind if I came to this event." Suggested Toni, smiling sheepishly at Cheryl.
Cheryl shook her head and frowned, "No, Toni. If you do come, my family will rip you apart with their bare hands."
"Oh. Um- okay then never mind." Toni laughed awkwardly, looking away.
Cheryl grabbed her hand so she could look at Toni and opened her mouth to speak. "Cheryl, I know you're trying to protect me. I'm not hurt or anything, I promise." Toni quickly said and flashed her a smile.
"You sure?" Asked Cheryl.
"Yes." Replied Toni.
"You double sure?" Cheryl asked again.
"Yes, I'm sure, Cheryl." Said, Toni. Toni watched as Cheryl's body relaxed and her eyes softened. Toni chuckled softly and said, "Cmon, we need to finish packing."
"I have a better idea..." Said Cheryl suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows.
Toni laughed and pulled Cheryl into a kiss.
-
Out of the window, the sky had turned from orange to pink as Toni zipped up Cheryl's suitcase too much of Penelope's annoyance. After a long makeout session, try-on marathon, and folding clothes, Cheryl was finally ready to go. She hauled the suitcase and dragged down the stairs, Toni followed behind her.
"There you are." Sneered Penelope, "We're late." Penelope stood at the bottom of the stairs with Nana Rose in her wheelchair by her side.
"Sorry." Said Cheryl nonchalantly as her heels hit the floor. Cheryl then turned around and held out her hand for Toni to accept. Toni blushed and wrapped her hands around Cheryl's.
Disgusted, Penelope wheeled Nana Rose out the front door and walked toward the car. Cheryl smirked in triumph, knowing that made her mother mad, walked outside with her fingers wrapped around the suitcase handler, and the other tangled with Toni's fingers.
Penelope was having a hard time getting Nana Rose in the car and was not helping by yelling. Cheryl quickly rushed over to help. While Toni grabbed Cheryl's suitcase and walked to the back of the car trunk, she pushed down the handle and placed it next to Penelope's luggage.
Toni shut the back of the trunk and walked over to Cheryl who was smiling at her. Penelope stood next to the car door and glared at Toni who put her arms around Cheryl's waist.
"Okay, Tina-" Penelope said while looking at Toni. Toni rolled her eyes and silently cursed Penelope for getting her name wrong nevertheless she raised her eyebrows. "When we leave, you leave, okay?" Penelope yelled sternly.
"Yes, Ma'man." Said Toni nonchalantly.
Penelope glowered at Toni and glanced at the opened front door. "Ugh, why did none of you, ungrateful brats, close the door? We're going to be extra late." Sighed Penelope as she stormed over to the door to close it.
Cheryl rolled her eyes and whispered to Toni, "TT, you can stay here for the meantime. I don't mind-no before you protest, I insisted. You can also invite Sweet Pea and Fangs if you like." Cheryl shuffled through her pockets and took out her keys and shoveled it in Toni's hand before Toni could say anything, only leaving her mouth agape.
"Cheryl, let's go." Yelled Penelope as she walked back and got into the car. Cheryl sighed and opened the car door and got in, winking at Toni as she closed the door.
Toni awkwardly watched as Penelope drove away from Thistlehouse, leaving her rocking on the bottom of her heels. Toni sighed and looked down at her hand where the keys were.
Her boots crunched underneath the fallen snow that covered the property of the Blossoms as she walked toward the front door. She unlocked the door with the keys and stepped into the eerily silence of the house.
Toni closed the doors behind her and dropped her keys on the table and walked upstairs to Cheryl's room. Where she plopped down on Cheryl's bed, already missing her. She took out her phone and texted Sweet Pea that she wasn't going to be home tonight and that she was staying at Cheryl's before getting up and grabbing her backpack.
Yesterday, Toni had come around asking Cheryl if she could help her with her geometry homework and Toni hadn't got around to finishing it. (Toni and Cheryl might or might now have spent the whole time watching movies and cuddling.)
Toni groaned as she took out her geometry homework and cursed when she couldn't find her pencil pouch. Knowing that Cheryl kept pencils in her nightstand, Toni sat at the edge of the bed and opened the drawer.
Toni grabbed the red pencil pouch and unzipped it. She took out a pencil with a cherry eraser and placed the bag back in its place. Out of the corners of her eyes, Toni spotted a bunch of envelopes stacked upon each other. Curious, Toni reached for the first one and saw her address on it.
"Why is my address on this?" Muttered Toni, examining the letter. Toni glanced around the room and carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the piece of paper. She unfolded the four-square folded paper and closed her eyes as the bottom of the last letter hit her.
"Dear all,
I feel empty and nothing really bad is happening to me. I actually have been happy for a long time and I don't want it to end. The day where I supposed to kill myself past and I don't regret it? I don't know, I'm still confused about... life. Maybe, I should talk about it with Toni. I think she will understand, yeah, I think. I'm planning to tell her about my depression after I finished visiting Aunt Cricket. I hope everything goes alright and she won't leave me. And, I'm not planning to mail these out to her any time soon.
Love, Cheryl."
Love, Cheryl. Toni hasn't seen that in a while. Toni bit her lips and carefully put the letter back into the envelope. Toni yanked on her ponytail, pulling her hair tie and ruffled it.
"Are there more of these..." Said Toni before rushing to look through the nightstand. Toni grabbed the rest of the stack of envelopes and threw it on the bed. Lay in front of her were suicidal letters written by Cheryl. All of them address to her.
"Cheryl..." Toni cried out, burying her head in her hands, "Why..."
Toni sighed and plopped back on the bed. She then carefully read all of the letters, trying not to leave a print on it while also holding back her tears. Toni only exhaled when she finished reading and stared into the distance.
A couple of minutes later, the doorbell rang causing her to jump up. What if that was Cheryl and she was back... somehow? Fuck. Toni thought as she fanatically organized it in the way she found it and put it back in the drawer. The ringing got faster and Toni quickly rushed down the stairs. When she opened the door, she saw two grinning faces that caused her to half-smiled.
"Sweet Pea! Fangs!" Exclaimed Toni who was clearly dumbfounded, "What are you guys doing here?"
"We're here to spend time with you in this haunted house, just in case... anything happens. We also brought pizza." Said Sweet Pea, holding the pizza box up.
"And mom isn't home and besides, don't you want to spend some time with your bro?" Asked Fangs.
Toni chuckled, "Of course. Did you guys bring anything else?"
"Um, we brought an overnight bag, that's all." Shrugged Sweet Pea, "Can we come in?"
"Yeah, come in." Smiled Toni, stepping aside so they could come in. Sweet Pea and Fangs dropped their overnight bag on the floor and stared in amazement. Toni laughed and took the pizza box to the living room. She settled the box on the table and opened the light, Sweet Pea and Fangs followed her into the living room.
"Sweet. This is so cool." Said Sweet Pea, hopping on the couch and grabbing the remote. Sweet Pea switched through a couple of channels to see if anything was interesting. "Does Cheryl have any movies?" Asked Sweet Pea, "I wouldn't mind doing an all-nighter today."
"Sweet Pea, we have school tomorrow morning. And I have to get my homework done and you need to go to bed." Said Toni simply as she moved a pillow so she could sit next to Sweet Pea.
"Toni is alright, Sweet Pea." Said Fangs, walking over to the tv. Sweet Pea pouted and took a slice of pizza. Fangs then looked back at Toni, "Where are the DVDs?"
"Thank you, Fangs- the DVDs are in that cubby over there." Said Toni, pointing by the tv.
Sweet Pea smiles cheekily and continues to chew on his pizza slice. Fangs walked over to cubby and grabbed a movie, he held it up for Toni and Sweet Pea. Toni nodded and Sweet Pea gave a thumbs-up. Fangs and Sweet Pea watched Rebel Without A Cause while Toni was finishing up her homework. Toni was fidgeting with the hems of her shirt as she thought about what she should do next? Lie to Cheryl and act very, erm, surprised when Cheryl told the truth? Or just tell the truth.
Toni sighed and thought, I'm going to tell Cheryl the truth. Toni could feel her heart sank as she thought it about once more. The truth.
PSA: if you want to find more ways/ want to know how you can help support the black lives matter movement, the link is in my bio! Share it, sign petitions, donate if you can, and educate yourself and others.
sabrina says! Hey everyone! A lot has happened since I last updated and um, can I say that America is so f*ck up? It's disgusting honestly. Ugh. On a lighter note, happy (belated) pride month and I just to say, I love you guys <3 I found my creativity back and I have an ideal plot for each chapter so that's good!! I'm going to complain/ talking about Riverdale for a min- so people on Instagram have pointed about how all the black characters have no storylines/are killed off and thinking about it, it's like wtf bro. Toni doesn't even have a storyline, the only thing is that she just Cheryl's sidekick/ girlfriend. I wish the writers would give her a storyline- smh, it has been two seasons since she has been on the show. And on June 3rd (Bisexual Day), Lili came out as bi and I'm so proud of her!! That the end of my ted talk and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Stay safe, loves!