Summary:
"Fangs uh... He didn't make it. He's gone."
That's when she stopped listened.
The pink haired girl's eyes fell to the ground, her bottom lip trembled slightly and her legs wobbled a little. She looked back at FP for a moment, before averting her eyes to the floor.
Or, we were robbed of a scene of Cheryl comforting Toni so here it is.
They got back to the White Wyrm in Cheryl's car, the redhead's hand never leaving Toni's. There wasn't much to talk about; Toni could feel how nervous her girlfriend was so she simply held the girl's hand, caressing it with her thumb.
"Thank you, for coming to get me." The pink haired girl said when they got to the bar, hand still intertwined with the Blossom girl.
Cheryl smiled softly before getting serious again.
"I spent the whole night trying to reach you and when Jughead called me I wanted to kill him – and all of your friends – for not looking out for you, I mean, I know it's been a crazy day but..." She shrugged. It was Toni they were talking about, for Cheryl, her safety was more important than anything else. "So I decided to do it myself." She nodded and smiled again before leaning in and giving Toni a small pack on the lips. "Now, let's get inside so they know you're fine, not thanks to them obviously."
Toni laughed and followed the girl. She wasn't mad the Serpents didn't miss her presence, of course not, it has been a long day, and everyone was too preoccupied with the riot and trying to catch Fangs shooter. But it was nice to know someone did care, enough to dress up as Robin Hood in red and threat a gang with a bow and arrow.
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They got in and after a few hugs from some Serpent friends, they both sat at the edge of the small stage, deciding to listen to what was being said. No one really minded Cheryl's presence at the bar anymore, already used to the redhead there since she had lived with Toni for a few weeks and they were always there.
For a while, they just stayed quiet, hands touching to give each other a little bit of comfort, but things started to get heated between Jughead and Sweet Pea, and Toni started to get more nervous, moving away from her girlfriend so she could sit up straight and pay more attention to the boys.
Cheryl only listened as Toni also got into the discussion, only listened when Sweet Pea and Jughead almost went head to head. She felt safe with the Serpents now, but it still shocked her sometimes, how they normally would fix their problems with heated fights. She was so used to only listening and agreeing with everything even if she didn't, in fact, agreed. Cheryl only listened when FP screamed for them to stop while getting into the bar.
"Fangs uh... He didn't make it. He's gone."
That's when she stopped listened and started to remember.
"Fangs is one of the best people I know."
"He's sweet."
"Me and Sweet Pea and Fangs are like brothers, we are all family in the Serpents. But they're special."
"He's helped me with my coming out."
Toni loved talking about her friends, and Fangs was one of the ones she talked the most and it instantly hurt Cheryl to hear that he had died.
She got up and her eyes were quick to focus on Toni, studying the girl.
The pink haired girl's eyes fell to the ground, her bottom lip trembled slightly and her legs wobbled a little. She looked back at FP for a moment, before averting her eyes to the floor. Cheryl knew she was trying to contain her feelings and it hurt the redhead so much to see the girl like that, looking even smaller than she normally was.
Cheryl raised her hand when everyone else did, only listening to part of what was saying, still too preoccupied with her girlfriend.
The serpents started to separate after that, Jughead being the first to leave, clearly bothered by the other members' decision. FP told them to meet again in a few hours, to start preparing for the fight that was clearly coming the next day.
Toni looked at Cheryl, noticing how the redhead's eyes were completely focused on her, she averted her eyes again, taking a deep breath before getting closer to the girl.
"You wanna stay? We can go to my trailer; my uncle isn't home right now." She said, her voice quieter and a lot more hopeful than she intended to sound. Cheryl only nodded, a sad smile on her features. Toni grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the bar.
They walked in silence until they reached the smaller girl's trailer, Toni couldn't stop thinking about FP's words.
"He's gone."
Gone. One of her best friends was gone. Someone she considered a brother, more family than the people that were her own blood. Someone that was so genuinely good, and so young, and had so many dreams...
"Hey..." Cheryl's hands touched her cheeks, pulling her out of her thoughts and wiping tears she didn't even know were falling.
Toni looked back at the redhead and all she saw was concern and understanding, and the smaller girl couldn't hold back the sob that came out of her throat, followed by another... And another.
"Oh, Toni..." Cheryl pulled her in, holding the girl while she cried, so hard that breathing was getting difficult, her knuckles were white, holding Cheryl's coat too tight as her tears soaked her girlfriend's neck.
"I... it hurts." Toni managed to say in between sobs. Cheryl guided them to the small couch, holding the girl even closer to her body.
"I know baby, just let it all out, its okay." The redhead knew all too well how much pain it was to lose a family member, to lose someone you cared about and cared about you back. And she wished she could take that pain away from Toni.
But she couldn't.
So she held her.
She held her as tight as she could. She played with her hair and whispered words of comfort to the girl's ear.
She held her until her breathing evened out after exhausting herself from crying.
Cheryl held her as she slept, looking peaceful in the redhead's arms.
The taller girl knew that peace would only last in her girlfriend's dreams, and she would have to wake her up in a couple of hours so she could face the world again.
But for now she would let her sleep, so she could have peace for a few moments.
And even when she did have to face reality again, Cheryl would be there, just like Toni was there for her.
