Unveil • Cheryl Blossom

Chapter 5

I gathered my things for school quickly, knowing that if I had wasted a minute I would probably be late. My mom knocked twice on my open door before walking in with her arms crossed.

"Morning, sweetheart. We need to have a talk." She spoke softly with a hint of intimidation making me stop my movements and mimic her crossed arms, wondering what I could have possibly done wrong in the past few days.

"Okay.." I trailed off quietly, "but can we make it quick? Ronnie's waiting for me." I informed her and she nodded once.

"I ran into Cheryl earlier this morning on her way out. What exactly was she doing here?" She titled her head, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I guess I forgot to mention she slept over last night." As soon as the words left my mouth her eyes widened, "Is that a problem?" I raised my eyebrow taking in her expression of disapproval.

She sighed and uncrossed her arms, relaxing a bit, "Trinity, you know I don't particularly trust the Blossoms-"

"-No, mom, I didn't actually." I interrupted what ever else she had to say for herself, "And that's none of my business but Cheryl isn't as cruel as you may think she is." I grabbed my bag and walked past my mother, leaving her in my room.

...

"Our first game!" I squealed as the school band played loud music and the bleachers filled with tons of people wearing our school colors and waving up posters.

I turned to Veronica and Betty, smiling at our matching uniforms we finally got to show off in front of people. I looked down at our yellow pom-poms, "Although, these can get quite annoying." I joked, holding them up as the two girls laughed.

"This is great," Betty smiled, showing off her perfect teeth, "I wouldn't be able to do this without you guys." She pulled me and Veronica in for a hug.

When the hug was over I felt a soft hand on my arm and turned around to face who it was, soon to find it was Cheryl.

She looked flawless, of course, in her uniform. This was the first I had seen her hair tied up and not flowing beautifully down her shoulders. "I had fun last night, we should do it again sometime." She smiled sweetly and I nodded before she walked off.

Veronica and Betty exchanged looks before giggling. "I've never seen Cheryl be so nice to someone before." Betty teased and I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Come on, the game is about to start."

...

I watched in awe as Cheryl walked across the stage and gave Josie a hug after the Pussycats' performance. 

I couldn't help but notice myself admiring her lately, which I found odd, but I chose to ignore it.

The rest of the cheer squad stood respectfully behind Betty and Veronica who were holding up the sign that read 'Go Bulldogs' as Mayor McCoy introduced the Bulldogs themself and they came running out. The crowd cheered and signs and posters went up making me smile at the school spirit.

The football team ran through the sign as planned and I glanced over at Cheryl but she wasn't wearing a smile. Mine faded when I saw her turn and run off the stage.

Everyone in the crowd stood up, noticing her departure. I exchanged looks with Betty before running after her.

She sprinted across the field and I chased her, trying to figure out what went wrong. "Cheryl!" I called after her but she continued to run, so I did too.

My hair was soaked from the previous rain and so was the grass making it difficult to run on but I managed until she finally came to a stop at the girl's locker room.

I saw her crouched at the end of the bench, crying in her hands. I slowly walked up to her, not really knowing what to do in a situation like this. "Cheryl?" I called out softly.

Her head turned slightly and she realized it was me calling her. She quickly wiped away her tears. 

"Cheryl, what is it?" I questioned her hesitantly, not wanting to be pushy considering all that she's been through. "What happened?" I sat down on the side of the bench, giving her a little space in case that's what she needed.

"Jason." She finally answered quietly before sniffling, "He's gone." Her voice cracked before she began to cry again.

I placed my hand on her back, trying my best to comfort her, "I know. I know he is-"

"No, you don't." She shook her head, "You don't understand. He was supposed to come back." She whispered making me furrow my eyebrows in confusion. Come back? "I'm alone." Cheryl cried.

I shook my head even though she couldn't see me with her back faced towards me, "No, Cheryl. You're not. I'm here." 

After I had said that, she quickly turned her body and hugged me tightly. I was slightly caught off guard but hugged her back nevertheless.

...

I picked up my cheerleading bag and slung it over my shoulder after I had put my things away. 

"Hey." Betty greeted me with a small smile, the same bag over her shoulder as well.

"Hey." I said back, mirroring her smile.

She crossed her arms as we began to walk, "I saw you and Cheryl." She began and I nodded slowly, thinking back to my mom this morning on how she didn't approve. Maye that's what Betty was about to talk about, too. "Not many girls would have done what you did."

I chuckled quietly, "Yeah, well, I don't know. There's something about Cheryl." I shrugged and continued to walk with her. "I know people don't see her the way I do, but she's misunderstood." 

"And how do you see her?" She asked curiously.

I thought hard about the question. And I wasn't sure if I had an answer. How did I see Cheryl? 

"Hey, you two." Veronica greeted us, breaking my train of thought. "You guys wanna get a milkshake at Pop's?"

...

"Here you go. One double chocolate, one old fashioned vanilla, and one strawberry." The waiter set down our drinks in front of us.

"You know what?" Veronica said out of the blue. "We should make a vow."

I raised an eyebrow at her as I took a drink from my striped straw. Betty looked at her, intrigued with what she had to say.

"That no matter what, no boy will ever come between us again." Veronica aimed more towards Betty but I gave a half-hearted laugh.

"I don't think I'll be into any of your guy's boyfriends anyway." I joked without giving much thought.

Veronica looked over at me, "What does that mean?" She laughed a little but still had a hint of interest.

In that moment I was slightly speechless, not even sure why I said what I did. "Nothing. Cheers." I lifted my drink, trying to change the subject quickly.

Betty giggled but lifted her drink as well, followed by Veronica.

Our attention was divided when the sound of bells jingling erupted the room. I looked up only to see the infamous Archie with an unknown figure. 

Betty turned her head and smiled at the two boys, "Do you guys want to join us?" She asked politely.

"Yes," The unknown one said walking forward, "but only if you're treating." He joked making all three of us laugh as he climbed over dramatically and sat down next to me, Archie next to Betty.

"Trinity Lodge." I introduced myself and he smirked,

"Jughead. Jones. The third."

"Jughead Jones, the third." Veronica repeated teasingly and the rest of us laughed.