Choni: Feel Free to Tremble

Chapter 16: Good Cousin Bonding Time

AN: Love you all so, so much. This chapter will be a little bit of a filler since it was like two big plot lines. Working on a fat, juicy plot line, but it's still cooking in the oven so yeah. Finale stuff in! Finally! I always like to have 2 chapters written before I release a new one, so that's why it's been so many chapters without finale stuff. Anyway, thanks for reading and love you all!

Written 5.16.18 (after the finale)

BETTY'S POV

At around 6 P.M., Toni finally woke up. Cheryl was still sound asleep, but Toni slowly woke her up.

"I'm going to Pops to pick us up some dinner, anyone wanna come?" Veronica asked. She shot a look at Toni.

"Yeah, I will. Your usual, Cher?" She asked.

"I'll just come along." She said, beginning to get up from the bed.

Toni pushed her down back onto the bed.

"It's fine, Cheryl." Toni said. "You stay her with your dear cousin Betty."

"How dare you mock me, Topaz." She began, "I felt like I got you back and your leaving."

"I'm just going to Pops, Blossom. Okay?" She said grabbing her hand.

She nodded her head. As Toni slowly detached Cheryl from her.

"Let's go then." Veronica said grabbing her purse.

"Wait," Cheryl said reaching her hand out, "give me your jacket."

Toni smiled and peeled off her Serpent jacket before tossing it to Cheryl. She put it on and inhaled deeply.

They left, leaving Cheryl and I sitting on the bed.

"So, Cheryl, how does it feel to have Toni back?" I pressed.

"Absolutely amazing. I keep thinking it's a dream and I'm going to wake up, but I am pleasantly surprised by reality for once." She said.

"I think you two are perfect together. Does she help you with your, uh, issues?" I asked, "I know Jug really helps with mine." I quickly added, so she would feel open to open up to me.

"She - she does. A lot. We were working on it but then, she left and I think that a lot of what we worked on kind of went down the drain." She said slowly.

"How?" I pushed farther. She sighed.

"You, you don't have to answer. Sorry for prying." I said, not wanting to push her too far.

"It's fine, dear cousin." She said, "we should both be here for each other."

I nodded slowly.

"The nightmares came back." She said.
"I dreamt about my vile mother and uncle. I dreamt my dead father and brother haunting me. They went away with time and help from Toni, but I can't shake them away now. At least without Toni."

"It's okay, Cher." I said.

"Thanks for being her for me, Betty." She said, "what about you?"

"I think I'm okay, after everything that happened with my dad..." I said.

"Betty, just because he was a tweaked out psychopath, doesn't mean the rest of you are." She said.

"I - I know but my mom, she's going insane. The hawks outside our house don't help." I scoffed.

"Better than my mom." She muttered.
"Sorry, I played the "my moms a psycho card" when you're mothers going through something horrible."

"No, it's fine. My moms just grieving. Your mothers "crazier than a serial killer on bath salts", to quote you." I smirked.

"When did I tell you I said that?" She said, shocked.

"You say a lot when you're drunk, Cheryl." I admitted. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Veronica and Toni walking into the bedroom.

"Well, I will try to shoo the hawks away the best I can from your abode, dear cousin." She said.

"Thanks but I don't think they'll ever leave." I said.

"If you ever need a break, you can come stay with me and Toni at Thistlehouse! We'll have such good cousin bonding time." She offered.

"Thanks, Cheryl." I said.

"Anytime." She said.

"Time to eat!" Veronica yelled.

We all made our way into the dining room and sat down.

Once our dinner was wrapping up, Veronica blatantly asked, "Cheryl, who was Heather?"

Cheryl shot Toni a look immediately.

"Did you tell her?" She said quietly to Toni.

She shook her head.

"No." She said, looking up at Veronica. Cheryl readjusted.

"How did you find out about her?" Cheryl finally asked.

"You said, 'Everybody leaves me. Jason, Heather, and now Toni' that night." Veronica explained.

"I - She - she was my - " she began. "My experiment." She finally

"But what happened with her?" Veronica kept pushing.

"My mother shoved them out of Riverdale." Cheryl said.

"How do you know though?" I asked.

"We went to see her." She replied.

"Who?" I asked.

She took Toni's hands.

"Me and my Cha-Cha here." She smiled.

TONI'S POV

After talking more with them, Cheryl and I decided to head back to Thistlehouse.

I typically don't get sentimental about places, since I haven't had any place to call home. But it made me feel at home.

The sweet smell of cherries and maple syrup.

The red lights in Cheryl's room.

The fluffy red duvet on her bed.

Cheryl there, every night in my arms.

I picked all of Cheryl's cloths off Veronica's floor and stuffed them all in a bag. Cheryl wrinkled her nose at me.

"Baabeee!" She pouted, "they're gonna get all wrinkly!"

"Sorry, princess. Would you like you help me perhaps?" I asked, gesturing to her sitting on the bed.

"I'll just get them ironed out later." She scoffed. My phone rang.

"FP?" I asked the caller.

"Hey, yeah. I have to leave but I don't want to leave your brother here alone." He said.

I looked up at Cheryl and covered the microphone in my phone.

"Do you mind if my brother comes over to Thistlehouse with us? He'll be safer on the Northside." I asked Cheryl.

"Yeah no problem." Cheryl said, "I finally get to meet him!"

"I'll come by and pick him up." I said speaking into the phone again.

"Okay, thanks." He said. I hung up.

"Let's go, Blossom." I said. "Lead the way."

AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Leave comments and suggestions about what should happen next!