Something Borrowed [Choni One Shots]

i don't want to hide, not tonight [T]

Cheryl didn't want to show up to the party, but she had to. She knew that she needed Toni more than anything.

After breaking up with Reggie, Cheryl was losing all sense of herself. She felt so stupid for not trusting Toni. She suspected Reggie was doing something wrong, but never wanted it to address it-- he was her safety blanket. But when Toni came along, Cheryl began feeling... unfaithful to Reggie as well. She wanted nothing more to escape his rough hands and piercing words, and instead crawl into Toni's warm arms and gaze into her beautiful eyes.

Standing outside of the Jacob Topaz's trailer, Cheryl's palms began to sweat and heart began to race. Millions of thoughts rushed to her head. Should she have brought a gift for Toni? Should she just leave now? Would Toni ever forgive her for coming to her party?

"What's the holdup? Let's crash this party," one of Cheryl's friends laughed. Cheryl pushed open the doors to the house, reluctantly at first. Her friends followed suit and walked into the house. Seeing Toni dance with Fangs made Cheryl's heart race even more, and she put a smile on her face.

"Wow, super cool dance moves," one of the boy's from her group sneered. This caused Toni to turn around. Cheryl's smile consumed her entire face-- she missed her best friend so much. Under the circumstances, Cheryl was fearful that Toni would lash out at her if someone from her posse behind her spoke out. She was scared to say anything to her friends though, as they would question why she cared so much, and being outed to the school is not what the intention was for the night.

"Ooh, I love candy in a cup," a girl from from behind Cheryl said, sarcastically.

"Hey Sweet Pea. Hey, Fangs." Cheryl greeted casually. She was nervous for Toni's reaction. It felt like time slowed down for a minute, awaiting her crush's response-- or lack of. Toni's eyes widened in shock (or disappointment) as she darted into the kitchen to find her uncle, Jake. Cheryl released her lip from between her teeth subconsciously. Did she fuck up Toni's birthday? Is there even a point in staying at the party?

"I wonder if there are any drinks at the party," the boy from before chirped up. The girls agreed, but nobody moved from their positions. The Vixens began to talk about how lame the party would be without drinks, and argued about something stupid. Cheryl didn't pay attention to her friends, though. She was more focused on the girl that stormed away from her, and if she should just walk away and give her space for her birthday, or find her and clear the air. Cheryl's heart beat faster and harder, feeling like a drummer performing on her ribcage. The group behind Cheryl was still in their discussion about alcohol when Cheryl interrupted them.

"I think we should just leave. I feel like we fucked up Toni's party. I have no clue why Sweets invited us in the first place," Cheryl muttered. They turned to leave, but Toni was halfway up the stairs yelling at Jake, causing a scene.

"--It's not even about me! It's just about Jake, Jake, Jake, just like everything else in my sorry-ass life." Toni appeared to be on the verge of tears as she turned to Cheryl. She looked frightened, yet so adrenaline filled all at once, like a bear fighting a hunter. Cheryl wanted to speak up, but her tongue wouldn't let her. She wanted to apologize for everything, but Toni darted up the stairs. It was too late.

"I'm not leaving yet, things just got interesting," someone said behind her. The group behind Cheryl walked down the stairs to join in on the party, but Cheryl remained by the door, unsure of where to go. On one hand, she could follow Toni up the stairs and attempt to reconcile the bad blood between them, or just leave and let Toni settle down. She felt conflicted and wanted nothing more than to help Toni and make her feel appreciated. She turned a bit to the left and noticed some picture frames on the walls. A small smile took over her face. The photos ranged from younger photos of Toni, to some of her with her parents. One of them was a photo of her and the other serpents, gathered around a bonfire. She looked so happy and fearless and beautiful. Her smile took up almost her entire face and her eyes so wide with joy. Cheryl traced her jawline in the photo and thought about how one day she wanted to be the one to make her smile like that. Cheryl was brought out of her trance by Jake swearing as she heard glass shatter, that's when she made her decision.