i just want you to know who i am

Chapter 34

Cheryl wasn't proud enough to call herself a perfect girlfriend, no matter how much Toni claimed she was. But she had to give herself a pat on the back for the things she did to make Toni smile. It was the brunette's last weekend of punishment for punching Moose in the face last month after the dance. She'd served too many Saturday detentions for both their liking, but it was finally over and Saturdays were theirs again. For the past few Saturdays that Toni had detention, the only interaction they got was Cheryl calling her early in the morning to make sure she woke up and wasn't late.

Around 3:30, seated in her Impala in the student parking lot, Cheryl waited with a bag of food from Pop's and two milkshakes. She kept the heat running in the car as she nibbled on a few of her fries, looking at the door to see if students had been let out yet. There weren't too many other cars in the parking lot besides hers and Toni's. According to Toni most of the weekends she went in for detention, she was surrounded by freshmen who got caught smoking in the bathrooms, or other things they thought would make them seem edgy and cool.

A smile came to her face when she saw a small group of students start to file out of the main doors, keeping her eyes on the girl in the high-waisted jeans and black puffy coat. She bit her lip as Toni walked towards her car, getting excited like a puppy when the brunette got close enough for her to make out a smile on her face. She gestured to the passenger side door, watching as she followed her instructions and got into the car beside her.

"Happy last day of detention," she giggled, handing her the brown bag, "Figured you might be hungry."

"You're unreal," Toni shook her head with a laugh, immediately digging into the fries, "Thanks, babe."

Cheryl nodded, sitting sideways in her seat as she watched her girlfriend with a smile. "I thought we could go do something today? Maybe go to Greendale or just drive around?"

"That sounds great, but I'm fucking exhausted," she frowned, "Weatherbee had us in there working twice as hard as the janitors. Like scrubbing graffiti from the bathroom stalls and mopping the cafeteria."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know, I-"

"No, it's okay. I just wanna go home to shower and maybe take a nap or something first if that's okay?"

"Of course that's okay. We don't have to hang out today, TT. It's not like either of us are going anywhere," Cheryl pushed her glasses up with a bit of a smile.

"I still wanna spend time with you, babe. Even if I wanna take a nap, I'd rather nap with you than nap alone," she smirked, chuckling at Cheryl's blush before sipping her melted chocolate shake, "I can drive if you don't mind if I eat first."

The redhead nodded, making sure there were no students walking by before leaning over to kiss Toni's cheek, smiling when she giggled in her ear. She didn't mind waiting. She didn't mind whatever they did, she was just happy to be with her. They sat in the warm car while Toni ate her burger, talking about the brunette's theory about Weatherbee's fucked up views on child labor or Cheryl's parents doing god knows what kind of business around town.

"Seriously, what if your dad is secretly some kind of all-powerful mobster? And he's out there committing crime after crime while passing himself off as a saint who can do no wrong," Toni laughed at the possibility, "I mean, come on, what kind of pastor needs business partners?"

"I think you've seen that Goodfellas movie a few too many times," Cheryl chuckled, "The business was my grandfather's. It's being put in his name whenever my nana passes."

"Oh right, the maple syrup business," Toni nodded, remembering that Cheryl had told her about her family's company just after she met her Nana Rose.