i just want you to know who i am

Chapter 19

Cheryl opened the door to the photography lab early Monday morning. Toni was in the dark room. Or at least she assumed so, since her car was in the parking lot and she was in there just about every Monday morning before homeroom. She hadn't talked to her since their phone call Friday night. And the call hadn't ended on what Cheryl considered good terms. Toni had seemed upset after Cheryl had asked about what had happened between their families that made her parents hate her so much. She wasn't one to push, but she felt like everyone was in on some big secret and she wanted to know what it was. But maybe it was hidden from her for so long for a good reason.

"Toni?" she asked quietly, entering the red tinted room as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Hey," the brunette smiled at her as she hung up some prints. A smile was a good sign, right?

Cheryl crossed the small room, toying timidly with the hem of her sleeves as she leaned in to kiss Toni's cheek.

"What was that for?" she chuckled, wiping her hands on a paper towel before kissing her girlfriend properly. She wasn't sure how bad her bruises were, but she wrapped her arms carefully around her waist, pulling her in closer.

"I missed you," the redhead mumbled, pouting against her lips before tucking her face into her neck, breathing in the scent of her shampoo and perfume.

"I missed you too," Toni giggled, "You never called on Saturday."

"I know, I'm sorry," she pulled back and tucked her hair behind her ear with a frown, "My parents pretty much had me on house arrest all day. But my dad said that if I cleaned up the mess that a bunch of hooligans left in our yard, then he'd consider changing his mind about me leaving the newspaper."

Toni just laughed a little and shook her head, "Sorry about that."

"It's okay, I know you had good intentions," Cheryl smiled and kissed her again, letting her lips linger against hers, "What are you developing today?"

"Just the pictures from the dance. Figured I'd give them to Betty with a half-assed story of how things went," Toni shrugged, letting go of Cheryl to turn back to what she was doing.

"She'll probably be really impressed. And grateful, cause I don't think she had anything else to include in the paper this week."

Toni just snorted and shook her head. "I actually just wanted one of the pictures," she smiled a little.

"Which one?" Cheryl's brow knit together in confusion as Toni pointed to one of the first ones she'd hung. The room was dark and the pictures weren't fully developed yet, but she could make out most of what it was. "Is that the one you took of me?" she blushed.

"Mmhm."

"What would you want that for?"

"I don't have any photos of you," Toni shrugged, biting her lip.

Cheryl was about to say something when they heard the door to the photography lab close outside the dark room, making her sigh instead, stepping away from Toni just as Mr. Clemmons stepped inside.

"Hi, girls. Working hard?"

"You bet, Mr. C," Toni smiled and nodded as she cleaned up, "I'll be back to pick these up at lunch."

Cheryl picked up her backpack and put it carefully on her shoulder, being careful of the bruises that still covered her back. They didn't hurt nearly as much as they did last week, but they still ached with enough applied pressure.

"See you later, Toni," Cheryl bit her lip while Mr. Clemmons wasn't looking, sending her girlfriend a secret smile before leaving the dark room.

xxx