Offline | CHONI |

Part V

By the time the sun came up Toni was already awake. It wasn't like her. Normally on weekends she liked to sleep the morning away but her mind was too busy. She was sober now, only the dull ache in her temples reminded her of how much alcohol she drank last night. However, she didn't care about that, she couldn't think about anything other than the girl in her bed right now and what she was going through.

Her hand reach for her phone on the ground, the notifications from Jughead annoyed her, she wasn't sure why, she just hated being pushed. She decided she'd talk to him later, when she's ready. There was also a message from Red who she now knows is Cheryl. It was short and sweet, but it made her heart beat twice as fast as she told herself she didn't have a crush on her redheaded friend.

Toni didn't do crushes, not really, if she liked someone she wasn't afraid to say it. She didn't do longing stares or wishful daydreams and she didn't usually do relationships. Technically she was dating Jughead, but she wasn't head over heels for him. Not like the girls she's seen in movies.

Jughead is a nice guy, she's said it before and she'll say it again, and she does like him enough to entertain his presence, but she didn't get 'butterflies' when he kissed her. Maybe she just wasn't that kind of girl or maybe the feeling of 'butterflies' wasn't a real thing. She wasn't sure and she wouldn't spend any more time thinking about it, so instead she pushed herself up to make breakfast.

When she heard her bedroom door open she looked up to see Cheryl stepping out of her room. Her hair slightly messy and her makeup smudged under her eyes, but Toni didn't notice. Instead she saw how anxious the redhead was as she excused herself to the bathroom.

By the time she came back out her hair was neater and her face was clear from any makeup. The anxiousness remained though. Luckily breakfast was ready and Toni made that the topic of conversation. Cheryl unusually quiet as she ate and Toni just wanted to bring up the text messages, but she wasn't stupid, she knew exactly how the redhead would react.

"Are you okay?" Toni asked, her eyes on the tv in an attempt to take off the pressure. "You seem quiet."

"I'm hungover," Cheryl said quietly. "Thank you for letting me stay and for breakfast."

"Anytime... do you maybe wanna hang out today?"

The redhead hesitated, "I can't, I'm supposed to be meeting Veronica and Betty. I'm sorry. I should probably go soon too, it's getting late."

"It's barely 10am," Toni said, before daring to look at the girl beside her. "But if you insist I can walk you home or give you a ride on my motorcycle."

Cheryl's eyes finally met Toni's, they almost popped out of her head as she tried not to choke on her food when the serpent mentioned her bike, "I'm fine, Toni. Thank you."

"I really would at least like to walk you to the north side. The south side isn't exactly safe for a girl like you." Toni saw the look on Cheryl's face and backpedaled quickly. "What I mean is, you're a northsider. I really don't like the thought of anyone bothering you."

The redheads eyes softened, "okay, but just to the north side, I can get a cab from there. I don't want to take up any more of your time, but thank you again for breakfast."

Toni knew their time together was coming to an end and she didn't want to push so she just nodded her head with a smile, "do you want to borrow some clothes?"

"Is that okay?"

"Of course. C'mon."

Toni picked out some jeans and a hoodie for Cheryl to wear before pulling out a pair of jeans and a tshirt for herself. The jeans were a little short for Cheryl, but with her heels it wasn't exactly noticeable.