𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚

Chapter 11.

Cheryl hadn't been in Betty's house in a long time, not since Betty's tenth birthday party - which is probably where their little rivalry had begun. It seemed to Cheryl that it hadn't changed at all, maybe some light new touches here and there, but everything to her seemed the same as it was eight years ago. Betty's home made Cheryl's seem dim and gloomy, what with her owning a huge mansion that half the time she was alone in, with scarcely any photos or personal items on her walls or shelves. Whereas one look into the Cooper's home and there were family photos scattered everywhere, the sweet scent of something being baked in the oven, a pillow sewn with a personal note from Betty's grandmother, all signs of a classic family home.

Cheryl would be lying if she said she didnt envy the family that Betty had. Being raised by a mother and father who loves you and having a sister that played happily alongside you. A girl could dream. Betty had no clue how lucky she was.

"Polly, is that you in the kitchen?" Betty had called after placing her keys in the dish on the coffee table.

Cheryl continued studying the house, silently admiring it. Although she did judge the colour choices a little, they were too...cheery for her taste.
Betty wandered off towards the kitchen, curious as to who was cooking because for once it was oddly silent. Plus the only other person that cooked besides her mum, Betty herself.

"Listen babe," Cheryl smiled at the sound of Veronica's voice, heart skipping a beat hearing Veronica call her babe. "You're going to fall in love with these babies, just wait. They're lush and like the spitting image of you."

Cheryl swallowed a nervous laugh. She didn't want to admit it but she was nervous, not about seeing the babies - that, she was thrilled about - but she hadn't seen Polly in a long time and not too long ago she was pinning Jason's murder on the poor woman. The echo of light footsteps caused the redhead to turn on her feet, eyes latching straight onto Polly's. Cheryl gulped, quickly clearing her throat and throwing on the mask of confidence she always wore.

"Pollykins. It's been a little while, hasn't it?"

Anyone could tell that the blonde wasn't enthusiastic about Cheryl being there. But she'd put that aside so that the twins could grow up and have a relationship with their auntie, she had no right taking that from them. Polly shot her a fake smile.

"Hello Cheryl." Then in a slightly sweeter tone, she greeted Veronica. "The twins have missed you, they seem to scream less whenever you're here."

Veronica grinned smugly, "What can I say? I'm a charmer. May we go and see them?"

Polly's eyes darted towards the staircase, then back to the kitchen when she heard a small chime ring out; indicating the food was done. Polly quickly reached across the counter, handing Betty two bottles of warm milk.

"You arrived at the perfect time. I'm going to finish this up and then I'll be up as soon as I can."

Betty gave a short nod, before leading the two girls up to the twins room, where she knew they'd have just finished up a nap. Cheryl trailed behind, stopping in the doorway as she peered into the room. One thing she had to admit is that the babies room was decorated perfectly.
Cheryl's eye fell upon a photo frame that sat on the dresser between the twins cots, her heart clenching when she saw a familiar redhead. A lump formed in her throat as she crossed the room taking the framed photo in her hand, tracing a finger over Jason's face. There were no words to explain how much she missed him.

"Babe, come and meet your niece and nephew."

Veronica's voice brought her back to reality,  gently placing the photo frame back where it belonged and heading to stand in the space beside her girlfriend. A little cry broke out around the room as Betty cradled  Juniper in her arms, clearly she'd just awaken the baby from its slumber. Cheryl's gaze drifted to Dagwood, the boys sky blue eyes shining up at her, a wide smile smeared on his face and a little giggle leaving his mouth. The redhead felt her heart swell with love, seeing the baby made her wonder why she waited so long to see them.

"Hey little guy." Cheryl cooed, reaching in to lift the small child from his bed.

"He's precious, isn't he?" Veronica watched as her girlfriend held the baby in front of her, a warm smile on her face before she rested him against her chest, the baby grabbing hold of her finger.

"He's so small," Cheryl muttered softly, feeling the boy slightly squeeze her finger making her let out a small chuckle. "I'm going to guess you're a little hungry."

"Here." Betty spoke up, passing the other bottle of milk her sister had handed her moments ago. "V, test it on your hand first."

Veronica took ahold of the bottle removing the lid and giving it a light squeeze, testing if it was too hot. When she knew it had cooled down enough she passed the bottle to her girlfriend.

"You know baby, you holding a kid kind of suits you, you honestly look absolutely adorable." Veronica pondered, eyeing the redhead with a small smile dancing on her lips. Cheryl pouted.

"Aren't I always adorable?"

Betty couldn't believe she was stuck in a room with Cheryl and Veronica and their lovey dovey behaviour. Don't get her wrong, she was all for romance. But she just couldn't find a way to support this one, sure she tolerated it, but she didn't ship it.

"Keep the flirting to a minimum, if you wouldn't mind." Betty muttered, eyes not meeting the two before her. Cheryl huffed, but Veronica gave a curt nod, she didn't want to make Betty feel uncomfortable. As well as the fact she knew Betty didn't approve of Cheryl.

"You sound like Jughead, what's the deal with you and him anyway?" Cheryl moved to sit on the oak chair against the wall. Smiling shortly at Dagwood before lifting her head to look over at Betty and Juniper.

Betty seemed a little dumbstruck about the question, she'd thought been acting perfectly normal around Jughead. Maybe she'd been a little on edge every now and then when the boy would step into her personal space; but she didn't think anyone had noticed.

"I notice practically everything, Betty."

"Well you haven't noticed anything here, nothing is going on between me and Jughead." The blonde denied, moving to place the bottle back on the side. "Would you like to hold Juniper?"

Cheryl knew she was changing the subject but she rose to her feet, she hadn't met her niece yet and she wasn't going to miss her chance. Carefully the two girls swapped babies, Dagwood in Betty's arms, Juniper now in Cheryl's. Cheryl could see the resemblance between Juniper and her mother, even though the pair were twins, Dagwood still carried more features of his father than his sister did.

"Aren't you just the spitting image of your mother? I bet you have zero clue who I am," Cheryl whispered quickly as she rocked Juniper gently in her arms. "But I promise, whenever you need me, I'll always be here. Whenever you want to hear stories about your dad, trust me, I have thousands of them."

A little laugh escaped Cheryl as she pictured her brother chasing her with a spider, in the moment she hadn't found it funny at all. But now she couldn't help but laugh along with her brother. Veronica's heart fluttered, she had no clue whether Cheryl would be good with kids or not; but clearly she was. Neither of the children had cried whilst she held them yet and the redhead seemed to adore them both.

"Maybe you should ask Polly if you can make these visits regular?" The brunette suggested, "They are your neice and nephew, after all."

Cheryl would usually hesitate when it came to having to talk to any of the Coopers that weren't Betty; but she knew now there was no way she couldn't be apart of their lives. They were her family. Her only family left that she cared for.

"I'll go talk to her now, do you want to hold her?" Cheryl didn't really give her time to answer before she pushed the infant into her girlfriends arms. But she knew the brunette would happily hold her. "I'll meet you downstairs in a bit."