Start Again | Choni

planted

Cheryl's POV

My foot tapped the floor impatiently as I waited for Sheriff Jones to return. I was sat in an interrogation room, staring at my reflection in the large mirror window. Sheriff Jones walked in with his glasses tucked into his shirt and a file in his hand. It was a suspiciously thick file, what could it possibly have in it?

"Cheryl, I'm sorry to keep you waiting." He said, sitting down. I crossed my arms and stared at him. "FP, what is this? How much is Hiram paying you?" I asked seriously. He didn't respond so I knew I hit the nail on the head. "Come on, FP, you and my cousin's mom are friends. What is all of this?" "Cheryl, you don't understand the bigger picture here. Hiram practically owns Riverdale, and he always gets his way. I was given this file, and it has some pretty interesting things in it." I sat forward in my seat. "Like what, Jones?" He adjusted his glasses before continuing. "How about the fact that you have a secret passion for arson? Apparently you set fire to one of Thornhill's old barns when you were eight years old, and tried to burn down your school a few weeks later. That doesn't seem to help your case here, does it?"

"What? I never did that. Sheriff, you have to believe me, someone planted that. I've never done any of that, I'd remember. And what I know is that I was always terrified of fire. I'd never sit beside the fire in the lounge at home unless JJ was with me, and I hated the idea of feeling hot. Thornhill was always cold and that was what I was used to. I'd never do any of that." I said hurriedly. He closed the file and stared straight into my panic-stricken eyes. "I know, Cheryl, I know." He said quietly. "What are you going to do about this?" "Well I'm trapped in a war to the death with a powerful mobster criminal, with nothing but my wit and what's left of my maple business. What do you suggest?"

Toni's POV

I've never been so scared for Cheryl in my entire life. The way she was just frog-marched from the school site to the police station without even an explanation. As soon as she was taken I sprung into action. I called Sweet Pea and Fangs and Jug and hopped on my bike to follow her there. Unfortunately I got held up at some stupid junction so I arrived ten minutes later, by which time she had already been escorted to an interview room. I wasn't allowed to see her. However I did see Hiram Lodge smirking as he passed by, a file labelled "top secret" under his arm. This was his doing, I know it was. "Nobody wants a criminal running a maple syrup business now, do they?" He laughed cruelly before leaving. So that's what it's all about, Cheryl's business that she was going to inherit as soon as she became of age. Well he wasn't going to get away with it.

Sweet Pea and Fangs met me outside the station around back, they were a bit cautious about going inside in case they were nicked for something they didn't do. The Northside didn't really care that much about the serpents and if Hiram saw any Southside Serpent jackets then that would be the end of it. "Toni, what's going on?" Sweets asked. "Cheryl's been arrested. No idea why. I'm guessing Hiram's name is all over it." I said angrily. "Wow, Blossom? Man what could she have done to Hiram to push him that far? Isn't she supposed to be staying with the Lodges?" Sweet Pea asked. I punched him lightly. "Come on, Sweets. I need your help." I pleaded. "With what?" Jughead asked. "Well you know a thing or two about the Lodges and how they do business. How can we get him back for this?"

Cheryl's POV

Sheriff Jones came back after what felt like forever. He looked serious as ever as he sat down. "Cheryl, I've done as much as I can, but I don't think I can make this go away." He said. "Wait, I just remembered, I've got stuff on Hiram. Do you have my phone? There's something I need to show you." I interrupted. And that's how it all started. I showed him the dodgy business deals and numbers that Toni and I found before we burned down the Pembrooke and explained his plans about taking down my family. "He's got a lot of ties to the mob, a lot of illegal business gets done through Riverdale." I explained. FP's eyes lit up as he read. "Cheryl, you know what this is?" I shook my head. "This is everything we need to stop him. He's been running drugs through Riverdale, using maple syrup and rum as a smoke screen. This is amazing." "S-So does that mean I can go?" I asked hopefully. "Just let me make some calls. Oh, but there is something I can do." He smiled as he left.

Two minutes later, the door opened and Toni walked in. I immediately flung myself into her arms and pulled her face towards me for a kiss. "Whoa whoa, it's good to see you to, Cher." She giggled. I sat down and she moved her chair beside me so I could rest my head on her shoulder. "Toni, it's all going to be over soon." I said softly. She sat up and looked surprised. "Really? Why's that?" "I showed FP the stuff we found in Hiram's study and he said it could be enough to stop him. Apparently, he's been using our town to smuggle his drugs across the Canadian border." "Wow, that's amazing news Cheryl. I hope this brings him down." "Me too." Oh, and Cher, the serpents are riled. They're willing and ready to go to war over this. They know about Hiram Lodge's history with the serpents. They protect their own, and as I protect you, they protect you." "Babe..." I said and decided just to kiss her again.

We were broken apart when Sheriff Jones walked back in. He held the door open and I stood up nervously. "You are free to go, Miss Blossom. I made some calls and did some digging. It turns out that there is no proof for any of Hiram's claims, and the file was in fact planted evidence. We're still looking into your evidence on his deals, but it's looking good so far." "How did you do all that so quickly?" I was amazed. "I have contacts. Sorry about all this, Cheryl." "It's okay. Thanks for the help." I smiled as I walked out, very much free.