Roommates | CHONI |

Six

It was safe to say Toni was completely out of breath by the time she got to the main doors in front of the dorm. She gave herself a moment to compose herself before making her way up to her room hoping she would find the redhead. She quietly opened the door but was met with darkness, it wasn't until her eyes adjusted she saw the lump in Cheryl's bed and heard a slight whimper. 'Cheryl?' Toni whispered. No reply. 'Cher? Are you okay?'. Nothing again. She realised she'd have to take the lead, she decided to pull back the duvet and crawl into bed. The crying girl didn't budge. 'Please Cheryl' Toni pleaded placing a hand onto pale skin 'talk to me'. Toni lightly pulled on the girls arm. Finally she heard words over the crying 'I'm so sorry Toni'. 'Don't be sorry Cheryl' Toni soothed 'try and get some sleep I'll be right here, we can talk in the morning'. The serpent knew they'd both drank a little too much alcohol and she wanted them both to be sober for the conversation they needed to have. Eventually Cheryl's cries died down until her breathing slowed and evened out. When Toni knew Cheryl had given in to sleep she did the same.

When Cheryl woke up the next morning the pain in her head was unbearable and she knew it wasn't caused by alcohol but by spending the night in tears. She was suddenly hyper aware of her surrounds when she realised her head wasn't on a pillow. She cracked open one eye and realised she was laid in Toni's arms, her head on the other girls chest. 'Oh no' she thought. She carefully unwrapped herself from the other girl's arms and dashed into the bathroom. 'What were you thinking' she hissed at herself in the mirror. She was meant to make amends with her roommate not kiss her and open a can of worms she'd have rather kept in the closet for the rest of her life. She had to gather herself, hopefully she could grab some clothes and stay in a hotel for a while until this has all blown over. That was the best idea she could think of so that was what she was going to do, run away and hide from it like she always did. She cracked open the bathroom door immediately noticing her bed was empty. 'Hey there' Toni was now sat in her own bed 'how do you feel?' she smiled trying not to scare the girl off. 'Like an idiot' Cheryl said as she made her way back to her own bed sitting crossed legged against the wall so she could face Toni, she wrapped her blankets around herself. 'Toni deserves answers' she thought to herself. 

'Why do you feel like an idiot?' Toni asked. 'Seriously? I acted completely out of character last night' Cheryl answered. There was no easy way to have this conversation so Toni was just going to try her best to navigate it. 'You can talk to me you know?' Toni looked at Cheryl and she could tell she meant it. 'Cheryl's it's okay' Toni sat up. 'What is?' Cheryl was dreading whatever she was about to hear. 'If you're into girls or gay or whatever' Toni shrugged. 'I most certainly am not' Cheryl got on defence straight away. 'Okay, okay' Toni put her hands up in surrender and decided to move over to Cheryl's bed to sit beside her. 'Well for a straight girl you're a great kisser' Toni smiled nudging her shoulder. Cheryl smiled back, eyes on her hands. 'Toni how did you know? Ya know?'. 'What like girls?'. Cheryl just nodded. 'Well I don't mind boys but I do prefer girls. It's just different I guess. I mean come on look at you compared to Jughead' she laughed. Cheryl didn't reply. 'Too soon?' Toni asked. Cheryl just nodded. 'Well how about past relationships, all boys?'. Cheryl kept quiet but decided she trusted Toni enough to confide in her, she'd already kissed her for god sake. 'I've never had a relationship, Nick's the closest I've come to anything like that'. 'Well you looked cosy when I walked in on you the other day'. Bile rose in Cheryl's throat. 'That was less than enjoyable' she confessed. 'Really? Then why'd you do it?' Toni looked at her with concern in her eyes. 'Because I can't be alone and inexperienced forever' she said her pale cheeks turning a crimson red. 'Cheryl there's plenty of time for that, you'll meet the right person and everything will feel right'. 'It did last night with you' Cheryl thought to herself never daring to say it out loud. 'So out of curiosity who was the better kisser?' the Serpent smirked. 'Toni... don't' Cheryl whispered. 'Don't what?' Toni said inching closer to the redhead. 'Do this'. It took everything in Cheryl to keep control of herself until she couldn't anymore, she leant forward and kissed Toni with everything she had. The feelings were even more intense than last night, it's like everything finally made sense. She didn't even realise Toni had pull her onto her lap to deepen the kiss. It was intense, emotional and Cheryl could physically feel herself become lighter like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders. 

Eventually the need for air became apparent and they had to part. 'That was nice' Cheryl admitted. 'It was' Toni placed a peck on Cheryl's nose before standing up. 'Actually I need to tell you something and please don't freak out' Toni looked at the redhead still sat on the bed. 'Oh no' was all Cheryl could manage. 'I may have accidently broke your boy toys nose'. Cheryl sat forward choosing to ignore the 'boy toy' comment 'Toni how the hell do you accidently break someone's nose?'. 'By punching them in it' she smiled sheepishly. Cheryl raised an eyebrow but before she could say anything there was a knock at their door. The girls looked at each other in unison but Toni was up so she answered it. 'Is Cheryl here? I need to see her'. Toni smirked at the bruising around the boys nose as she stepped aside to let him in. Nick walked into the room and sat straight on Cheryl's bed. He turned to to Toni 'can I have a private conversation with my girl Serpent?' he spat. 'Watch your mouth, you don't want another broken bone' Toni said as she went into the bathroom to shower. Cheryl tried to hide the smirk on her face before Nick turned to face her.

'I was worried about you babe' he said as he reached for face. Cheryl moved her face out of his reach 'look Nick this isn't working for me, I'd prefer to be friends'. 'Seriously all the teasing and you're not going to put out at the last minute. Is this because of your delinquent roommate?'. 'Don't call her that' Cheryl stood up 'you need to leave'. 'I'm not leaving us like this' he grabbed her arm. 'There is no us, we barely had a date' Cheryl tried to pull away but he only held on tighter, he pulled her towards her and tried to kiss her. Cheryl moved her head the best she could to avoid him but he grabs hold of her chin trying to force her to kiss him back. Cheryl squeezes her eyes shut and silently begs for Toni to get out of the shower. During the commotion neither of them hear the bathroom door open 'what the hell' Toni said pulling Nick hard by the shoulder causing Cheryl to drop to the floor. 'She was begging for it' he spat. Toni didn't hold back she just lost control. She didn't stop until she felt Cheryl's arms wrap around her and pull her back. 'Toni please that's enough' Cheryl cried. 'Get out' Toni said through gritted teeth as Nick scrambled to get up 'and don't bother Cheryl again'. Nick ran out the door. Toni turned her attention to Cheryl 'are you okay?'. Cheryl didn't say anything she just fell to the floor crying bringing Toni down with her. These last 24 hours had been a rollercoaster for Cheryl with highs and lows and she just needed a still minute to think.

As soon as Cheryl had calmed down Toni got her into bed and set up a movie on the laptop. Toni went to put on her jacket which made Cheryl sit up 'where are you going?'. 'We need food' Toni answered simply. 'Let's order pizza' Cheryl gave her puppy eye's as she lifted the blankets for Toni to get it. Cheryl had no idea why Toni made her feel so needy, she had always dealt with situations worse than today by herself but she didn't want to be alone. Toni happily obliged changing back into her sweats and sliding in the bed. Cheryl didn't attempt to move any closer, she was more reserved and nervous, everything was new for her whereas Toni was more confident. They decided on ordering a large cheese pizza after Toni put down her phone she scooted closer to the redhead and did the good old fashion trick of yawning while attempting to put her arm around the girl next to her. This earnt her a small giggle and playful eye roll from Cheryl who decided a cuddle after a stressful day wouldn't be so bad. They knew they couldn't stay like this all day though, it was their first official day tomorrow and they had to make sure they had everything prepared but as for now they were happy to relax together enjoying a pizza and a movie.