Warnings: Angst, suicide attempt, depression, (presumed) unrequited love
Summary: You and Cheryl Blossom have been best friends your entire lives. Your parents aren’t exactly close, but you can’t remember a time when you weren’t at Cheryl’s side. You don’t quite know when the lines of friendship blurred into whatever you have now, but you know one thing is for sure: you are absolutely in love with Cheryl Blossom.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
You remember the day you befriended Cheryl Blossom very well. You were in the same kindergarten class, and your parents had just moved back into Riverdale, so you were entirely new and really shy. You didn’t talk much that first day, but some kid managed to make you cry within the second hour.
You don’t even remember what he said, but Cheryl - just as feisty as she is now - pushed him into the finger painting station and got timeout. You knew right then and there that she was going to be your best friend, and you’ve been inseparable ever since.
Everyone always thought the worst of her, but you were one of the few people to ever see her soft side. Cheryl was actually one of the sweetest people you knew.
Jason liked you simply because you made Cheryl happy, so sleepovers were frequent and often spent in the company of both twins.
Over the years, you and Cheryl only seemed to get closer. As her mother’s clear emotional abuse took over Cheryl’s life, you were always there for her. Always her shoulder to cry on, when Jason either wasn’t enough or not what she needed. When the seeds of self-doubt planted themselves, you made sure she knew that you thought she was beautiful and deserving of so much more than she had.
The summer between sixth grade and seventh, and Cheryl tells you, quite embarrassed, that she hasn’t even had a first kiss yet. It’s a fact that she didn’t want anyone else to know, because she and Jason are so popular and she has too many people who would jump at the chance to exploit that fact.
“I’ll do it.” You say quietly, the stroke of midnight rapidly approaching. “I’ll be your first kiss.”
She looks at you with wide eyes. “You- you’d do that for me?”
“Of course, Cheryl.” You smile. “You’re my best friend. It should be with someone you trust, right?”
She nods, biting her bottom lip shyly. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” She licks her lips.
You cup her cheek and waited for her to close the gap between you. Her eyes flickered down, then meet yours. Cheryl so rarely shows her vulnerability, but in this moment, she was bare and open before you. And when your lips meet, you feel something swell in your chest.
It’s a quick kiss - just a peck, of course - and when she pulls away she is blushing. “Thank you,” she whispers.
In eighth grade, you kiss Jason because you’ve never kissed a boy and he just seems like the best option. You don’t feel anything, but you’re thankful that he let you kiss him and he’s sweet as pie to you after. Cheryl doesn’t know, but for some reason you hope that she never does.
