Toni walked stiffly into the kitchen, having just gotten home, relieved that her family, even though they were back from the vacation she decided to not join, were not home and were out doing God knows what. She grabbed a glass out of the pantry and pushed the water dispenser in the side door of the refrigerator, filling it up.
"Toni?" Veronica's soft voice asked tentatively as she entered the kitchen. Of course, there was always Veronica, whom always came in and out of the Topaz house as she pleased since she was a child, had a key, presented to her by Clara and Mike (The Topaz parents) when she was 13.
Toni said nothing. She walked over to the counter and set down her glass, picking up a bottle of ibuprofen.
"Tones?" Veronica asked again.
Toni continued her silent mission, unscrewing the childproof lid, pouring out two round pills into her head.
"Do you have a headache?" Veronica gestured to the medicine.
Boy did she ever. Toni popped the pills in the back of her throat. She lifted the glass of water up, preparing to swallow the medication down. Suddenly her eyes bugged and she ran to the sink, spitting the pills out. They had just started to dissolve, and left a nasty taste on her tongue.
"Plech."
"I'm pretty sure those are okay to take when you're pregnant. As long as it's the recommended dosage, right?" Veronica said, understanding her friends thought process.
Her eyes flashed. "How the hell should I know?" Toni snapped. "I'm seventeen, Veronica! I don't know anything about this!"
"It's okay." Veronica soothed, moving closer, "So, did you talk to Cheryl?"
"Obviously I talked to Cheryl!" Toni snarled.
"And?" Veronica's curiosity was too great for her to acknowledge the dangerous look in the younger girls light brown eyes that she had come to know so well.
Toni looked ready to lash out, and for a second Veronica feared she was about to fly off the handle. But then her eyes instead filled with sorrow, and she shook her head softly.
"Please, Ronnie. I don't feel like talking." She pushed her aside gently and left the room.
"Tones." Veronica followed her, "You don't have to talk. But if you need anything, I'm here."
Toni didn't reply and shut the door to her bedroom, locking it before Veronica could enter.
--
Cheryl stared up at her ceiling, laying back on her bed. She missed Toni. She had become her first bad habit over the weeks of their relationship, if it was right to call it a relationship. Throughout the course of those weeks, Cheryl hadn't even realized how big a part of her life Toni had become. She had built all her free time around her, and when she couldn't be with her, she spent most of her time thinking about her, and what her next encounter with her would be like.
When Toni stopped seeing her, she had started craving her body like mad. That was understandable. She had gotten used to having her on demand any time, day or night. But she had begun longing for her in other ways as well, ways she wouldn't have imagined. The more time she had spent with her, the more Cheryl had grown to care for her, to a far greater extent than she would have thought possible. All her previous thoughts and assumptions about her were altered drastically. "Bang-able" changed to beautiful. Arrogant changed to confident. Overdramatic changed to passionate. Whiny changed to sensitive. Catty changed to witty. And those fake megawatt smiles for which Toni Topaz had been infamous for had given way to a smile just as bright, but one that was utterly sincere, and never failed to make Cheryl feel spectacular.
