Choni. Till the end of my days.

acquaintance

Cheryl's POV

A luxurious black car entered Thistlehouse's gates. It stopped right near the entrance of the house. The door of the car opened and a handsome man in his mid 40s politely greeted my mother. Then he helped his daughter getting out of the car. She had a light brown skin and brown hair with pink highlights. As much as I didn't want to accept that the girl was really pretty.

"Hello, Mr. Topaz. Welcome to Thistlehouse. This is my daughter Cheryl!" Let the show begin! I hate when my mother's guests visit us and we pretend like we have a perfect mother-daughter relationship. She acts so fake and makes me do the same.                                                                                

"Bonjour, Mr. Topaz. I hope you had a great journey. Come in." I greeted them gallantly while  inviting them inside.

"Thank you, Mrs. Blossom, Cheryl. This is Toni." he pulled his daughter closer to himself and squeezed her shoulder. "We had a good trip. Your garden looks amazing" He said with a warm smile on his face as we were entering the house.

"This is the dinning room. Food will be served in a few minutes." My mother said diplomatically. She sat right next to me. Toni and her dad did the same. Our butler served the food. "By the way, Toni this is Mr. Davis. If you need anything feel free to ask him." Two more people entered the room. "This is Mrs. Miller. She is our cleaner. She will do your laundry and make sure that your room is clean. And of course Mr. Bradford. He is Thistlehouse's cook. If you want to eat something specific, tell him anytime." My mother said while looking at Toni with a devilish smile on her face. "Oh! I forgot to mention you can always reach me or Cheryl if you want."

"Thank you, Mrs. Blossom you are very kind. I'm sure I'll enjoy my stay." Toni said politely. There was something unique about her voice. Something really mature. In fact I was pretty interested in her. Her clothes were unusual for the occasion. She was different from all other rich kids who usually visited us. She was wearing a black long sleeved crop top with checked denim pink skirt and a pink flannel. Toni also wore a lot of jewelry. It almost looked like she was from a gang. 

I already felt that the dinner was going to be long and boring because our parents were talking about weather, politics, plants and other monotonous stuff people talk about on official events. My mother noticed that both me and Toni got bored so she quickly said.

"Cheryl, dear, please show Toni the house and the garden. Desserts will be served in 30 minutes. Be back by then and don't be late." My mother said warmly. This women was incredibly good at acting. I had no choice other than taking Toni for a walk. I didn't really want to entertain her but there was nothing else to do anyway. Mr. Topaz smiled. I think he wanted me and his daughter to be friends. For some reason I was sure Toni's dad wanted it not just because it benefited him. Mr. Topaz wanted Toni to have friends so she didn't feel alone... He cared for her...  For me that felt too unfamiliar. I don't think my parents have ever cared for me. I was about to tear up but I quickly realized with whom and where am I. I gave Toni a quick smile and we got out of the dinning room. It was mid august so the weather was warm even at night. I wanted to walk in the garden so we got outside in a complete silence. After we got out of the house and started walking she broke the silence.

"Your house is really beautiful."

"Uhh.., let's skip the formalities. I'm annoyed with them." I said in my usual mean bitch manner and spiced it up with a bit of disinterestedness. 

"Well, there's no need to give attitude but overall you are right. No need for officialities." Toni said quietly. "So Cheryl? Since we are supposed to live together I'd like to know what do you enjoy doing? Like what hobbies do you have." She asked while still being a little shy.

"I am the head cheerleader of River Vixens." I said that in a very self-satisfied tone. I tried to put a fake smile on my face. "What about you, Toni? You look like you are from a gang." I said teasingly. 

"If Miss. Blossom herself asks that question I am supposed to answer it." She said half giggling. Oh god! This girl is so attractive and yet SO annoying! "I love photography. Back in Rochester I got away to the forest or waterfall and take photos of nature, animals and stuff like that. I've brought my camera to Riverdale. Hopefully here Ill find some new interesting locations. Ill show you some of my pictures later if you want." It was fun to hear how Toni talked about something she was passionate about. That was even kind of cute?! I found myself smiling but I quickly put my deadpan face expression back as she continued. "I also really enjoy riding motorbikes. Unfortunately my dad hates it so I couldn't bring it to Riverdale." I think Toni felt upset for a second but then she carried on. "By the way back in Rochester I was in our cheerleading team. I was one of the best flyers in my school." I'm pretty sure Toni felt nostalgic. At that moment I had realized what she was going through. She probably had friends in Rochester and she just left them. I thought it would be nice to cheer her up a bit. Of course I needed to do it in a Cheryl Blossom way. 

"Well, to be honest I'm not interested in photography and stuff but you can try for my Vixens audition. I'm not sure about you getting in but you can try at least." I said in my bitchy tone. "I can talk to that serpent hobo. I think Southside scum can lend you a motorbike."

"I appreciate that, Cheryl. That's really nice of you. But you better watch your mouth. The Serpents are my childhood friends. I used to live in Southside until I turned 10 and I moved to Rochester. My grandfather and his friends had founded Serpents. I am a serpent by blood and I will never let ANYONE say something bad about  serpents." Toni said confidently. I was ready to fight her back. I had a perfect come back. No one in my entire life had the audacity to be disrespectful or a bit bitchy. This girl was sure that she can talk to HBIC of Riverdale like THAT and do not get in trouble?! I was ready to destroy her but I didn't even manage to open my mouth when Toni said "We will talk about this later. Now lets go back to our parents. 30 minutes have passed. I don't want to be late." 

"Okay, Topaz. I don't want my mother to wait for us but be ready. You are going to be destroyed." Toni saw fire in my eyes. My determination had no boundaries. I was so ready ruin her. 

Despite everything that had happened we headed home. Both of us knew how important that contract was for our parents so we at least needed to make an impression that everything is fine. As we stepped into the house Toni put a slight smile on so I did the same.