Living is always better with you by my side | Choni

I'll be patient 

As she fixes her dress for the umpteenth time after playing with it over and over again, the only thought that Cheryl can conceive right now is that she should have never let Betty drag her into this mess.

You have to get out of the house at some point, she said, and clearly her boyfriend, Jughead's friend Sweetpea's wedding was the perfect occasion, wasn't it? She has probably talked to Jughead maybe twice in her entire life never mind his so called friend Sweetpea, and now she's standing second in line at this damned wedding with her cousin at her right, no one at her left and what feels like an anxiety attack creeping up on her.

She's going to kill her cousin the moment the reception is over, and painfully, because the blonde knows that she's nowhere near fine and she still insisted.

The redhead takes a deep breath and plays with her dress again before looking at the groom, Sweetpea, who's waiting for his bride in front of the registrar. Who even marries someone in a trailer park, she thinks. Well, the groom isn't bad looking to some extent - sure, she's never seen anyone looking so gloomy the day of their wedding, but then again when the bride walks in his face goes from gloomy to glowing, so whatever.

Good for them, she thinks, and she doesn't even try to deny that in her head it sounded ridiculously bitter. Christ, it's not just that she's surrounded by people, it's that it's a fucking wedding, and why did Betty think that dragging her to someplace where you see happy couples everywhere after her last relationship ended up with her having to go to a therapist was a good idea, she had no clue.

The bride walks down the aisle wearing this grey and black dress - obviously, from what she'd seen Cheryl had figured that the bride wasn't a type to dress in white at her wedding - and she takes another deep breath, and then -

She hadn't really noticed one of the bride's bridesmaids - she had apparently been sitting until then. But a moment after the bride takes the groom's arm, the bridesmaid stands up and goes to stand behind Sweetpea, and - well, shit.

She's a piece of work. She looks great in the dark shade of purple dress she's wearing, brunette curly hair with what it seems to look like, some pink highlights, and then the bridesmaid turns and gives a good look at the crowd, and - it happens that her eyes meet Cheryl's as she turns her head.

And what eyes. Wide, of a lovely shade of dark brown, and surrounded by a face that you couldn't describe as anything but gorgeous, all regular features and full lips and a darker shade of skin. Cheryl expects her to look away a moment after, but instead she doesn't, and their eyes lock for a handful of seconds, and then the goddess gives her a small smile and turns back to the ceremony.

Cheryl can feel her hands sweating and wipes them along her dress, cursing her life and her choices - two years ago, she wouldn't have thought twice about buying the girl a drink after the reception, but right now she doesn't even dare think about it. Even if she found the guts to do that, she's pretty sure that no one would want to get saddled with her the moment they find out about her baggage, and that'd be heavy baggage.

Still, her brain isn't connecting with her mouth this time, and she's elbowed her cousin slightly before she can stop herself.

"Hey, you know who that bridesmaid is"

"The brunette? It's Sweetpea's best friend. I think her name is Toni. Why, you're interested? She's kind of cute, I guess"

"Fuck off" the redhead mutters, and then she shuts her mouth because she's not going to talk while those two get married. So maybe she looks away while they're kissing, because she's not so sure that she can take the sight of happy couples getting married and kissing, even if she's pretty sure that no bride tells the groom that they know nothing before proceeding to use their tongues to kiss every inch of their mouth.
So she looks at the bridesmaid, who looks as if she's about to cry in happiness - oh god, someone who cries at their best friend's wedding?