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you're the breeze that puts my mind at ease

Summary:

Lately Toni has been searching for a newfound excitement in her life, even more so after discovering some not so pleasant news from her doctor. Toni didn't know that all she needed was a beach and a volleyball to lead her to everything that she had been searching for.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1: chapter 1.

Chapter Text

The hatred for doctors offices was unbearable. The luminous lights, informational posters plastered all over the walls, and the itchy sheet paper that sits on top of the cold leather of the examination table is literal hell. But alas, there sat Toni awaiting for her doctor to return to share with her the latest updates of her health from her annual check up. 

Toni sat on the table growing impatient. She had prepared herself to hear the usual: eat your greens, stay active, and don’t let your job stress you out. Which is impossible when you work in the field of social work but that’s neither here nor there. While fidgeting with her fingernails, Toni swung her feet back and forth with her heels slightly tapping the metal underneath the table, the only form of entertainment that her petite size could offer. 

She found herself gazing at the different posters that decorated the small room. None of which Toni took a liking to. She then found her eyes boring into the tiny square mirror that hung atop the hand washing sink that the doctors used to clean their hands after each visit inside the room. Her eyes went to her plum lips, mentally noting to apply more lip gloss as soon as she left the office, then onto her hair which has been dark brunette for the past couple of years wondering if she would ever go back to braids or spontaneously dying it again, and then finally she stared into her own eyes. Where she saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. Toni was always a vibrant and lively soul, the girl could light up any room with her laugh or the spark in her smile. Lately Toni hasn’t felt that usual fire, she’s felt… Empty. Life was truly passing by when Toni realized that she’s 25 living in LA, and is single, and also truthfully, lonely. Sure she had her own house, granted she shared with her best friend, and an amazing job doing what she loves which is making kids feel understood and appreciated but after a while, that wasn't enough. The feeling was initially brushed off as seasonal depression until she realized that there is no such thing when you live in LA. She wanted to feel again. She wanted some excitement back in her life. 

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door to the right of her swung open and then entered her abnormally chipper physician. 

“Good Morning Ms. Topaz. Great to see you again.” The doctor greeted as he plopped into his rolling chair, quickly rolling himself towards the swivel computer screen where he typed in his access information. 

“Morning. Great to see you too Dr. Frasier.” Toni greeted back with a lazy smile. The man just nodded in response as he brought up Toni’s profile.

 “Any new medications?” He asked nonchalantly. 

Toni shook her head lightly before realizing that his back was turned to her, “No sir. Just the daily topiramate for the migraines.” She assured him. 

“And how have those been? Any progression?” 

“Very much, actually. I rarely get a migraine and whenever I do it’s way less intense as they were before so no complaints.” She assured once more, she truly hated visiting the doctors. Dr. Fraser spun in his chair abruptly to turn towards Toni before immediately getting up to do his physical evaluations. He checked her ears, next was her throat, then onto her blood pressure, ending with listening to the sound of her heartbeat and lungs. He informed her that her heart was beating strong, he found no problems within her lungs but he was a little concerned about her rising blood pressure. Which Toni then informed him that it’s due to the recent heavy workload. It wasn’t the full truth but she would rather not tell her doctor that she saw her eyes filled with nothing but emptiness and that it almost drove her into a severe panic attack. 

Once he put everything back into their respectable places he sat back down on his stool and crossed his hands on his lap taking in a deep breath. Toni’s palms began to sweat as she felt the shift of tension. 

“Well Ms. Topaz, I can assure you that your normal physical is perfectly fine. I still want you to work on lowering that blood pressuring and reducing your stress intake.” He began pointedly. Toni nodded idly, knowing that would be the case. 

“However, I've checked deeper into your records and noticed from a previous appointment, and from the checkups that you’ve done today, some things that stood out to me...” He spoke. 

The words he spoke next put Toni into a daze. She stared at him blankly trying to find strength to breathe. Toni could clearly see the man speaking but his words sounded as if they were drowning underwater. He couldn’t have said what Toni thought he said. That can’t be right. It had to be some kind of mistake.

"Ms. Topaz?" He called out.

"Um, yes. What...What does all of that mean?" Toni tried her best to stay coherent.

“Ms. Topaz it means that the number and quality of your eggs are lower than expected for your age. Meaning that it is preferred to either plan for kids young or freeze your remaining eggs so that as you age they won’t diminish as well.” Dr. Fraser carefully explained as he sadly watched the smaller woman finally come back to. 

“What?” She asked softly. “I’m 25. It’s not like I can get any younger to save me any time.” She mumbled aloud. 

“There are plenty of options Ms. Topaz—“

“Please. Stop calling me that, just please call me Toni.” The small girl interrupted, needing to feel some sense of comfort. The doctor obliged and continued his conversation. 

“Of course, Toni, I am not saying that you cannot have kids. Many mothers with this condition have given birth to beautiful and healthy children. What I am saying to you is that there are precautions that most people take when finding out this information.” 

Toni said nothing. She just took in this information before impulsively hoping off of the table and grabbing her jacket and purse. “Well, thank you for all of the information but I have to get to work now—“

“Toni. Please, let me give you some locations of specialists that can help you.” Dr. Fraser pleaded but it was no use, Toni was halfway out of the door. 

“No thank you. The only location that I need to be at right now is at Harbor Middle assisting the hundreds of kids in need of counseling.” Toni concluded. 

“But Ms. Topaz—“

“Have a great day doc.” Toni said in finality, and with that she made her way to work. Refusing to come to terms with the news that she had just heard. 


“Good Morning Waldo.” Toni sang to the principle of Harbor Middle as she walked through the halls of her workplace with her best façade on full display. A whole new attitude than what she had showed at the doctors office. 

“Ms. Topaz, how are you this morning?” Principle Waldo Weatherbee asked politely. 

Toni ignored the pull in her chest and gave an automated answer, “Great and ready to work.” She diverted. “Who’s waiting for me today?” 

“Charles Clayton Jr., 7th grader, in your office already actually. The teachers note on the desk” The older man assigned and with that walked away. Toni entered her office and physically relieved at the comfort that radiated off of her tiny sanctuary. Her office was decorated with plants, her degrees displayed proudly on the walls alongside artwork some of her students give to her as their appreciation, it was truly her safe place. She sat her belongings down and turned her attention to the boy seated across from her desk. He was about the same skin tone as Toni, maybe a tad darker, curly black hair, and seemingly in great shape for his age. Toni sat behind her desk and offered the boy a smile before she began. 

“Hi Charles. I’m Ms. Topaz, as you may know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in my office before.” Toni pointed out. 

“That’s because I’ve never been here.” The boy spoke up. “I’ve never been in trouble before so…” 

Toni’s eyebrow arched at the statement before she realized the cause of his anxiousness. She smiled softly. “Charles. You aren’t in trouble. One of your teachers probably sent you here because they feel like you’re showing some behavioral signs that are unlike yourself. Does that sound like the case, Charles?” She carefully asked. 

Charles’ body visibly relaxed at the comfort of Toni’s voice and the assurance that he isn’t in trouble. “Yeah. That sounds right.” 

“Do you mind telling me what they might think has changed with you? I could read the teacher's note but I like to hear from my students first before hearing somebody else's perspective.” Toni said once more, offering Charles a smile of encouragement. 

“I've been sleeping a lot in class lately. I guess they’re just worried about that.” He shrugged. 

Toni took mental note of that, not wanting to scare the boy with her pulling out a pen and notepad to physically record this information.  

“Would you like to tell me why that is the case? No pressure, share what you feel is comfortable.” Toni assured Charles once more. 

“I just, I work out a lot more. I want to make varsity this year for football instead of junior varsity but no 7th grader has done it yet. If I want to make it I have to train hard.” Charles said passionately. Toni wondered if this was the doing of a parent. Parents tend to project their adolescent desires onto their children, which never leads to anything good. Toni just nodded in response before speaking her next thought. 

“Are your parents aware of your extensive training?”

“Not parents. It’s just me and my dad. He knows, he works out with me. He doesn’t know about the...falling asleep in class.” Charles admitted nervously, scared Toni will reveal information to his dad. 

“Listen, everything you tell me in this room is strictly between me and you. This is a safe place. I’ll only involve your parents if I see that your grades drop dramatically or have suspicions that something is going on at home. Okay?” 

Charles shook his head understandably, before he could get another word out the passing period bell rang loudly. Toni sighed, feeling bad about their time cutting short. 

“Hey listen, I want you to come back to see me on Monday during your lunch, okay? We’ll be able to talk more then.” Toni suggested softy. 

“Okay, Ms. Topaz. I’ll see you Monday then.” Charles said as he grabbed his belongings and left out of Toni’s office. Toni huffed out a large breath before collapsing back into her seat, remembering all the events from this morning. A tear threatened to fall down her face but she fought it. She had plenty of more kids to check up on throughout the day so she couldn’t allow herself to break when she had to be strong for them. 

Just as she decided to dive head first into her work, her phone lit up with a notification from her roommate and best friend, Josie. 

Josie: Not cooking tonight. Bring home food! 

Toni rolled her eyes, Josie was the best cook between the two and after today Toni for sure knew that a home cooked meal would do wonders for her. 

Toni: Jos, come on! 

Josie: I’m tired T, and plus, I want hot wings tonight so don’t disappoint :) 

Toni: Fine. I’ll bring them when I get home. 

Toni sighed and put away her device deciding that it’s time to do some actual work. The day went by fast. Toni caught up with the kids she needed to talk to, patting herself on the back because of their progression. After an uneventful lunch chatter in the teachers lounge with the rest of the instructors she headed back to her office to finish some more paperwork. Shortly after, the clock struck 3:15 and it was time to make her exit. The brunette packed up her things and headed out the doors alongside the many other students. 

When Toni left the building she noticed Charles talking to a man, who she presumed was his dad, and gave him a small smile. 

“Have a good day Ms. Topaz!” Charles said with a bright smile, Toni was shocked at his change of demeanor since earlier this morning. 

“Well Thank you Charles, same to you!” She said brightly back. “And you as well sir.” Toni politely offered a greeting to the man who looked almost identical to the child. He flashed Toni a charming smile. 

“Thank you. It’s Chuck, Chuck Clayton. Cj is my son, obviously.” He chuckled nervously. 

“I figured, you guys look just alike.” Toni pointed out. “Enjoy the rest of your day.” She said with a smile and continued to her car practically feeling the gaze that followed her from behind. Little interactions with her students like that one made her days much better, even if the parents checked her out every now and then. 


Instead of heading home Toni took the exit that led her to her favorite beach. When she arrived to the beach, she took off her heeled boots, shoving them in her trunk, grabbed her sandals and headed towards the sand. She walked alongside the beach every Friday and Sunday night to clear her mind. Sometimes during the week too if the day was too heavy for her. 

Now with her feet in the warm sand and breeze from the waves beside her, she can finally think and reflect on her day. The heaviness from her doctor's appointment pulled at her chest again. The thought of not having kids frightened Toni. She so desperately wanted to give her future children the life that she never had the chance to experience. The white picket fence with two loving parents and plenty of pets roaming around the yard. That was the dream for her. Toni couldn’t help but feel the sense of loneliness wash over her again once she realized that she had no one to do this with. Yes she was strong and independent but sometimes it’s nice to have someone in your corner. She wanted so many things at once. She wanted excitement, she wanted love, she wanted children, and also, she wanted her damn fire back. 

Her thoughts got the best of her, she walked for what seemed like hours. It wasn't until she felt a volleyball roll over her toes that she became aware of her surroundings. She looked down and saw a flash of pale skin grabbing the ball and by the time she jolted her head up she saw the back of a person with bright red hair running back towards what looks to be a recruitment table with three other women behind it. Toni noticed the sign that stood next to it. It read “Spiking Jewelz”. 

Due to instinct Toni assumed the table was to con beach goers into donating money to a fund that doesn’t exist in the first place so she continued her walk. That was until she heard a voice so magnetic that caused her to stop in her tracks. 

“Is this thing on?” The voice beamed through a megaphone. “Oh, yay!” The voice cheered once more. Toni turned around to see where the voice was coming from and to her surprise it was the redhead who picked the volleyball up from her feet. Toni was stunned at the sight before her. The redhead was average height, which was taller than Toni herself, her hair came down to almost butt length as it laid now in a ponytail with two strands flowing in the front of her face, and her skin, god her skin, looked to be so smooth and soft. 

“So if you’re in the mood for a newfound excitement and friendly competition through beach volleyball, come join The Spiking Jewelz!” The voice roared, gaining a few loose applauds. 

Toni didn’t know how long the redhead had been talking while she was staring at her but from what she heard, she's intrigued. A newfound excitement. That is exactly what Toni needs right about now. So she headed over to the table to see what they had to offer.

That’s how Toni found herself at the recruitment table, palms sweaty with anxiety to not only take on this new adventure but to have a conversation with this beautiful woman. She stepped up to the table and began looking over the many papers scattered across it. 

“So, how does this work?” Toni chuckled nervously as she began to talk to the redhead, noticing that it wasn't a con for money but a signup table for a beach volleyball team. “Do I have to try out or?” 

“Oh, well you fill out this information sheet right here with your name and contact info and then someone will call you after all the applications are in and will give you the next step on becoming a Jewel.” The redhead explained with a genuine smile. Toni smiled to herself at the term becoming a Jewel. Toni nodded her head understanding what was just said to her. The redhead squinted her eyebrows to take in Toni’s appearance before coming to a realization. 

“Shit. You’re the girl who I accidentally hit with my volleyball.” The redhead blurted. “Sorry to just grab and run but I had to get back to the table.” She apologized sweetly. Toni smirked at her and waved her hand. 

“It’s fine, it barely hit me. It was only my feet.” Toni assured as she filled out the information sheet. Once she was finished with one long breath she handed it back to the redhead woman with a smile. The woman took the paper and nodded while reading over Toni’s information. 

“Well...Toni. Thank you for your interest. Be on the lookout for a call from one of the Jewels.” She said kindly. 

“I’ll be looking forward to that…” Toni dragged in hopes to receive the girl's name. 

“Cheryl. Head Jewel.” The woman responded. 

Toni giggled at the introduction. "Head Jewel. So that means this team is basically yours?" Toni questioned.

"Oh no, in simple terms, I'm the just the co-captain. The owner is our Crown Jewel, Lindsey. She does our promotion, supply equipment and things of that sort." Cheryl explained.

Toni nodded her head following along, still in shock about the technicalities of volleyball but nonetheless offered one last smile before going on her way. “Well, Cheryl, Head Jewel. I’ll be looking forward to that call. Have a good night.” 

And with that Toni turned her back to head towards the parking lot, deciding it was time to stop and get dinner then head home. Once again, she felt a gaze stare at her from behind but this time she turned her head slightly to meet the eyes that were on her. When she did, Cheryl quickly ducked her head in embarrassment of being caught. Toni turned her head back around with a shy giggle.

"Twice in one day, good job Topaz." She mumbled softly to herself.


After what seemed like two hours of waiting in line to receive her food order, Toni brought herself through the doors of her shared home with her and her best friends dinner in tow. 

“Toni, Toni, Toni!” Josie sang as she turned the corner to greet her best friend. She was about Toni’s height, maybe taller, with a darker skin complexion than Toni, her tight curly hair laid in a bun atop of her head. 

“How many times do I have to tell you that’s corny as hell.” Toni rolled her eyes as she headed to the kitchen. Josie followed behind her, taking the bag of food from her hands. 

“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t care. Now come on, let’s eat!” Josie responded grabbing the styrofoam container assuming it was her food. “So my dad called today. He’s enjoying his retirement, he wants to see me soon.” She said biting into a wing. Josie's dad is a retired musician, he used to perform weekly at a speakeasy in a small town across the country and finally retired after singing for almost his entire life. 

“Good for him! I’m going to miss him sneaking us into his shows for free though, and watching you sneak and use the stage.” Toni teased, finally now eating her food. She hummed in appreciation after her first bite. “God, why are hot wings so unhealthy but so good?”

“I usually know all the answers, but an answer to this? I do not know T.” Josie said with a mouthful of food before her eyes snapped open. She covered her mouth with her hand before she spoke. “Oh! How did your appointment go today?” 

There it was again. That tinge of sadness on Toni’s heart. Honestly after her walk at the beach she had forgotten about the day that she had, the beach always did that for her. Not wanting to dive into that pool of emotion again she answered very vaguely. 

“You know the usual, stop letting work stress me out. I told him the same thing as last time. I literally work with kids under the age of 15, there is no such thing as no stress.” Toni successfully changed the subject receiving heavy laughter from her roommate. 

“I still don’t know how you do it. I’d be pulling my hair out by now.” Josie admitted with a chuckle, before Toni had a chance to respond her phone rang. It was an unknown number which usually she’d ignore but this time she felt the urge to answer, so after she cleaned her hands she excused herself from the kitchen and headed down the hallway towards her room. 

“Topaz.” Toni answered the phone. 

“I would ask if I was speaking with Toni but by your greeting I can tell that I am.” The soft yet cocky voice responded through the phone. Toni knew the voice to be the Head Jewel herself that she met earlier at the beach. She smiled despite herself. 

“That you are.” Toni rasped. “And who might I be speaking to?” She asked, deciding to play clueless. 

“Cheryl Blossom, Head Jewel of the Spiking Jewelz. You signed up earlier and as promised, I wanted to call you to go into further detail of your involvement as a Jewel.” Cheryl informed Toni. 

“I’m all ears. So, how does this work?” The small girl questioned as she laid her back down on her bed. Her room was much similar to her office, it was covered in plants for calming energy, fairy lights stretched across of her simple wood headboard, on her mirror hung pictures of her from her younger years and some recent ones, her bed decorated with many fluffy pillows that she has collected over time. It was comfortable. 

“Well, first things first, you need to attend our conditioning practice. The practice is to see if you can handle everything that comes with beach volleyball, like the drills, sand, and being in the heat for many hours at a time. Conditioning is Friday at 4:30pm.” The redhead explained as if she was reading off of a script. 

“Okay, sounds fair. So is there an actual beach volleyball league or do you just put your bodies through hell for fun?” Toni teased lightly, earning a soft chuckle from the latter. 

“No Toni, there is an actual league. We start off as local competitions and then onto regionals, then sectionals and if we’re good enough, which we are, we’re onto nationals.” Cheryl explained for Toni who was stunned that beach volleyball is taken so seriously. 

“Wow. I never knew that people took this seriously. No offense, of course.” Toni carefully said receiving another soft chuckle from the girl on the phone.

“Yes, well it is a great activity that a few take much pride in. So, can I add your name to the list of people willing to come to our first conditioning?” 

Toni took a second to think about this. One on hand, she was nervous. She hasn’t played volleyball a day in her life, she would more than likely not know anyone else on the team and she was scared that maybe one of her students would see her in tight spandex on the beach and see her in a completely different light. On the other hand, this is something new, fresh and exciting. Exactly what she has been looking for. 

“Toni? Are you still there?” The voice over the phone asked, snapping Toni out of her thoughts. 

Fuck it. Why not. 

“Yes I’m still here, sorry. Of course, sign me up.” Toni said excitedly. 

“Great! Eventually a group chat will be made with all of the other players to keep everyone updated on things that are going on but that isn’t until we see who stays or goes. Until then, I’ll see you on Friday for our first conditioning practice.” Cheryl said enthusiastically. 

“Sounds good to me. See you Friday.” Toni concluded. 

After they both said their awkward goodbyes and hung up the phone. Toni blew out a long breath definitely not ignoring the small sparks that she currently feels in her stomach. Maybe her fire didn't leave her. Maybe it just needed to be brought out again.

Hopefully it will.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Notes:

Well, I forgot to change the date when I first posted this fic so that sucks lol. if you didn't see it when I first posted just go back and read the chapter before this one :)

Chapter Text

The weekend came and left within the blink of an eye. After all of Friday’s events Toni took it upon herself to have a self-care day on Saturday, she meditated, sat outside for some fresh air, did a bit of journaling, even helped Josie rehearse some lyrics for a new song that she was planning on performing soon, anything to lift her spirits. Those activities surprisingly enough took up most of Toni's Saturday which is how she found herself sitting in her room with her legs crossed on her bed staring at the blank screen of her laptop on a Sunday night.

Josie had left a few hours ago to go perform a gig at a lounge tonight, she had invited Toni to tag along but the woman politely declined feeling not in the mood to party. Toni’s fingers hovered over the tiny keys for what seemed like hours, she told herself that tonight would be the night that would gain any and every knowledge about her current medical condition but she couldn’t bring herself to a start. She didn’t even know where to start. 

After much contemplating her fingers finally began to type. She started off vague by simply searching the word infertility, when the results didn’t seem to match exactly what she was looking for she then searched more in depth.

“Infertility treatments…” Toni mumbled to herself while she typed then became immediately overwhelmed with all of the results that came rushing in. There were so many doctors, treatments and acronyms that she knew nothing about. She took a survey, briefly explaining her condition and the website directed her to a page that would be more useful. There she began to read more about the process of freezing eggs, the different medications that one can begin to take to improve their chances, also a variety of therapy that can help as well. 

Toni spent well over an hour submerging herself in research and information before her phone rang loudly on her nightstand taking her out of her trance. When she went to see who was interrupting her a small smile crept on her lips when she noticed that it was a facetime call from her other best friend, Fangs, she answered with no hesitation.

“Aye Toni!” The man said with a wide smile, holding his phone so close that his teeth almost took over the whole screen.

“Hey Fangs.” Toni replied with a soft smile. 

“I’m with Pea!” Fangs said, flipping the camera around to reveal their other best friend, Sweet Pea, who was towering over Fangs while holding up two brown paper bags and a case of beer.

“We got beer and burgers, what are you doing right now?” Sweet Pea asked with a mischievous grin.

“I’m currently home alone, Josie is out at some lounge tonight.” Toni chuckled, “I hope the point of showing me all of this is to tell me that you’re sharing.” She said with her eyebrow pointed.

“It's like you read our minds, be there in 10!” Fangs said flipping the camera back to face him before quickly hanging up.

That was all of the motivation that Toni needed to call it a night for her research, she quickly closed her laptop and headed to the living room to find a comedy movie for her and her friends to watch. It was almost a tradition between the three best friends, whenever Toni hung out with the boys they took turns finding a comedy movie and then at the end each person rated it and gave a presentation as to why they rated said movie the way that they did. It was corny but Toni wouldn’t trade those many tipsy presentations for the world. After finding a movie and grabbing the blankets out the dryer, true to their word exactly 10 minutes after their phone call both Sweet Pea and Fangs were knocking at Toni’s door. The small girl quickly ran to the door where she was greeted with pure excitement from both of the men.

“Toni!” They said in unison, making their way through the door and towards the kitchen.

“Okay, what did you guys do and what do you need me to fix?” Toni asked suspiciously before closing the door and headed towards the kitchen with the two men who already started drinking their beers. Fangs gasped in fake shook before a pout appeared on his face.

“Whatever do you mean?” He asked in an innocent voice. Sweet Pea giggled and handed Toni her beer and burger, taking another large swig of his own.

“What Fangs really means is that we’re celebrating!” The taller man triumphantly stated, Toni gave him a confused look.

“Celebrating?” She asked.

“I finally left that toxic chick that I’ve been clinging onto for months!” He informed her, receiving a supportive slap on the shoulder from Fangs followed by Toni.

“Sweets, about damn time.” She said, taking a sip of her drink, “How are you? Are you okay?” Toni asked sincerely. 

Sweet Pea waved her off with his free hand, “I’m actually okay. I told her how I felt underappreciated, you know, I was ready for commitment and she still wanted to party all night and shit. She went on a rant about how I don’t know what I’m leaving behind but I could care less honestly.”

“Thatta boy!” Said Fangs, “You’ll find the woman of your dreams soon--”

“Yea, any girl would be crazy to let you go. You’re literally the biggest sap.” Toni added.

“Oh yea, big sap for sure--” Fangs added.

“One hundred percent.” Toni added once more.

“Fuck the both of you, are we watching a movie or what?” Sweet Pea said while carrying his food and beer towards the living room where the movie was paused, Toni laughed and grabbed her items as well, seating herself by Sweet Pea. 

“Toni, did you ever update my resume for me?” Fangs asked, sitting his food in between the two on the coffee table.

“Yea, it’s on my laptop in my room. You can send it to yourself, you know the password.” Toni said, “Hurry up, we’re starting the movie!”

“On it boss!” Fangs rushed to Toni’s room, eyes scanning for the laptop before he found it and flopped onto her bed. Once he put Toni’s password through his eyes widened at the last tab that was open. 

“Infertility treatments…” He read slowly to himself, he quickly closed the laptop deeming this information too private to read. He placed her computer where he found it and headed back out to join his friends. His mind was spent with a million and one thoughts but the one that occurred the most was him wondering what secret was his best friend keeping. Once Fangs found himself in the living room he happily sat on the floor  in between Sweet Pea and Toni with his back resting on the couch. This was his normal spot, no matter how many times Toni begged him to sit on the couch like an adult. 

The three began to watch the movie, it was interrupted plenty of times, whether it was from Sweet Pea commenting on every single line or them having to pause the movie to let Toni go through the motions of her insanely loud laughing fit. Fangs would add his commentary every once and a while but he was still too deep into his thoughts to fully engage, the other two paid no attention to it however. Three more beers and three thoughtfully presented improv presentations later everyone was just about ready to head in for the night. Sweet Pea continued to lounge around the couch like he normally did while Toni and Fangs cleaned their area spotless. Once Sweet Pea noticed that everything was cleaned he lifted from the couch, gave Toni a huge hug before heading to the door. Fangs began to follow before he stopped in his tracks.

“You know what, go ahead and start the car Pea… I have to use the bathroom.” Fangs said quickly, grabbing his stomach to sell his story, Sweet Pea shrugged his shoulders and headed out of the door. Toni looked at him with amusement before shaking her head, heading towards her room.

“Make sure to use the air freshener, and lock up when you leave. Who knows when Jos will come back.”

“Toni, wait!” Fangs said suddenly causing Toni to turn around with a look of confusion on her face.

“Fangs, what the hell?” She asked, still not understanding where this outburst came from.

“Are you...Are you okay?” He asked gently, Toni was still not understanding. 

“Am I okay? Fangs, I literally just sat and laughed my ass off with you guys, what do you mean am I okay?”

“Well I know you’re okay but are you...fine?” He asked again hoping that Toni would make this easier for him but when he realized that she still didn’t know what direction he was headed with this conversation he blurted it out.

“When I got your laptop to send myself the updated resume it was a certain tab that was left open and--”

“Fangs!” Toni shouted, her eyes widened in shock when she finally realized what Fangs had been referring to. 

“I closed it as soon as I saw it, I swear!” Fangs swore. Toni let out a long sigh and ran her hands through her hair before slouching over the kitchen counter in defeat. She didn’t want anyone to know yet.

“Toni, I know that it’s none of my business but I can’t pretend that I didn’t see those things. An infertility clinic? Treatments? What’s going on?” He asked in the softest voice possible, he brought his hand to her upper back and began to rub soothing circles. 

“I went to the doctors on Friday and they basically told me that I have a medical condition that will make it harder for me to have kids the older I get. So my two options are to have kids now or freeze whatever is left of my eggs to save them from dying out.” Toni said all in one long breath. “It’s just so fucked up, you know? I’m only 25, it’s not like I can freeze time until I’m ready to settle down with someone and have kids it’s just so fucked up.” She said with a sad chuckle, Fangs didn’t respond, he wrapped his arms around Toni’s small frame and rocked her back and forth. The feeling of the weight lifting off of her shoulders consumed her and she let out a loud sob onto his shoulder, she was feeling so many emotions at once that she couldn’t articulate yet. Fangs stood there and let her cry for as long as she needed too. It wasn’t long before her sobs became quiet sniffles, that is when her best friend decided it was an appropriate time to talk.

“I’m so sorry Toni.” He said softly to her. Toni shook her head furiously into the crook of his neck before breaking free from the hug.

“Listen, I haven’t told anyone, not Josie--hell not even my grandpa so please Fangs I’m begging you to keep this to yourself.” Toni pleaded, feeling the sensation of panic rising.

“Okay, I won’t tell anyone you have my word.” Fangs assured her, “But don’t you want to tell someone T? So that you wouldn’t have to go through this alone.” 

“I will tell someone Fangs, eventually. I just need to wrap my head around everything myself before I get to that point.” Toni said. Fangs understood and brought his arms around her body one last time before walking towards the door with Toni on his tail.

“You have me, if you ever need to talk about this I’m here. I mean it Toni.” Fangs stated firmly, Toni nodded her head and offered him a small smile.

“Thanks Fangs, I appreciate it.” Toni said before the latter walked out of the door. Toni locked up and went straight towards the bathroom, she needed a hot shower and to sleep. After her shower she snuggled herself under her blankets and prayed that Josie wouldn’t wake her up to tell her the details of her night. For right now, she just wanted to get her rest before starting her work week.


On Monday morning Toni declared that today there would be no tears shed and no other stressors that could dampen her mood. She told herself that this week would be a week filled with great energy and achievements. Toni made a promise to herself that she would not dwell on her current situation but take action about it, she had planned to call a specialist to set up an appointment after work today. She dressed herself more than usual for work, even adding some makeup to her look. She also made her and Josie breakfast which she received a weird look from her best friend considering that Toni only cooks for special occasions. By the time Toni arrived at Harbor Middle, her spirits were as high as they have ever been in the past couple of days.

On her way to the entrance she noticed a familiar face approaching the door as well, it was Chuck Clayton, Charles' dad. The pair made eye contact and Toni noticed his smile grow wider on his face, he stopped walking to wait for Toni to catch up to him.

“Good morning Mr. Clayton.” Toni greeted as she approached the man, they began to walk closer towards the school.

“Please, call me Chuck. Good morning Ms. Topaz, how are you?” He asked with a smirk plastered on his face. 

“I’m doing very great, I must say, how about yourself?”

“Ah, you know…” He responded quickly before opening the door for Toni and himself.

“Thank you.” She said softly, they continued to walk the halls.

“Cj is out sick so I’m here getting all of his work for him. He’s at his grandma's house and you know how kids act when grandma is around.” He said with a chuckle. Toni could relate, her grandpa was the smothering type, especially if you weren’t feeling well.

“Whenever you’re sick it’s common law to go to your grandparents for some extra lovin’ so don’t take it personally. Sorry to hear he’s sick though, I was looking forward to seeing him today.” Toni said sincerely. 

“Yea he told me that you guys talked. He said that he liked you more than any of his other teachers because you were way more chill .” Chuck said. The pair stopped walking and stood in front of a class which Toni assumed was one of the stops Chuck needed to go to to pick up Charles' work. Toni subtly crossed her arms around her chest intrigued with Chuck’s comment. 

“Is that so?”

“Yea, he’s right, you know? You are chill, but talking to you now makes me wonder if my son is favoring you because of your chillness or because of your beauty.” Chuck boldly stated with a smile appearing on his face, Toni was taken aback by the compliment and cleared her throat trying to come up with what to say next.

“Well, let’s hope his favoring of me is simply because I’m good at my job, have a good rest of your day Mr. Clayton.” Toni said deciding that now was a great time to end their conversation. 

“As do you, Ms. Topaz.” Chuck said with a quick wink before entering the classroom. Toni headed to her office, and once she arrived she closed the door behind and let out a long breath. Sure there have been parents that stared at her or made subtle comments about her hair or outfit but never has Toni met a parent as bold as Chuck Clayton.

Before starting her workload for the day Toni took out her phone to quickly text Josie about the encounter that she just had, when she unlocked her phone there was a text coming in. 

Cheryl (Head Jewel): Start of the week reminder!!! The Spiking Jewelz will be hosting their first conditioning practice on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Please be punctual and dress accordingly as well as bring any SPF that may be needed. Water will always be available to you at every practice! Can’t wait to see you guys! ~Your Head Jewel <3

Toni smiled at her phone, for a moment she had forgotten that she agreed to be a part of this beach volleyball team after everything that happened over the weekend. A mixture of nerves and excitement began to grow in her stomach, this was truly insane for Toni to commit to but you only have one life to live so she was willingly to take the leap. After receiving that reminder Toni didn’t bother to text Josie, she dove into her work and hoped that the week would go by as fast as it can with the same vibes intact. 

Which, thankfully, it did. Toni had made it to Friday with no interruptions or stressors. She was proud of herself for having such a peaceful week, she didn’t set her appointment with the fertility specialist like she had planned but she figured that she would tackle that task on the weekend. Heading out of the doors of Harbor Middle Toni decided to stop at home first before going to the beach, she didn’t want to feel out of place with being an hour early. 

When she entered her home she dropped her work bag to the ground alongside her shoes and headed towards the hallway leading to her room. On her way, she spotted Josie leaning on the kitchen counter distracting herself with her phone. The darker skinned girl was startled at Toni hastiness. 

“Hey girl, where’s the fire?” Josie asked with a giggle after turning her phone off. 

“Hey Jos. I didn’t expect you home so early I thought you were going to visit your dad.” Toni said, taking a seat at the counter.

“Yea I was but then I thought about it, you should come with me! You can see your grandpa while we’re there and we can have one last karaoke night at the speakeasy.” Josie suggested with much enthusiasm. Toni contemplated for a moment, it would be nice to visit her grandpa especially during this hard time that Toni is navigating herself through at the moment but she couldn’t just leave, she had work and promised her appearance at practice today. Even though her better judgement was on the fence about her decision, Toni decided to still decline anyway.

“Yea that would be nice Josie but I can’t, at least not today.” Toni let her down gently, Josie eyed her for a moment in a way that Toni knows to be her death stare.

“Girl what’s going on?” Josie finally asks, “Did you seriously think I wasn’t going to find out?”

Toni began to panic. Did Fangs tell Josie about what he saw on her computer? Did Josie use her laptop and see her search history?

“What...What are you talking about?” Toni asked, trying to disguise the panic in her tone. Josie continued to stare before her face broke out into a wide smile.

“You have a date tonight, don’t you?” Josie asks grinning as if she’d cracked the code. Toni couldn’t have been more happy that she was wrong. 

“No I do not, thank you very much.” Toni said relaxing into her chair. Josie’s grin faded and she tilted her head to the side.

“Oh...So what’s gotten you in such a rush and also so important that you turned down an opportunity to see good ole Thomas?” 

Toni thought about her response. She could easily lie to Josie and say that parent teacher conferences were tonight and that she had to be there or she could tell her the truth about joining a beach volleyball team out of a moment of impulsiveness. The ridicule that could come with telling Josie the truth was already unbearable but she couldn’t lie to her best friend. 

“I joined a beach volleyball team and our first practice is today!” Toni blurted. It took Josie one minute before erupting in pure laughter. “Yea, get it all out.” Toni said, rolling her eyes. 

“Wait T, no, I’m not laughing at you--” Josie said but was interrupted by her own laughter. Toni stared at her waiting for her to finish her laughing fit, regretting not telling her that she had conferences to attend to tonight.

“Okay.” Josie said once she composed herself. “What on earth made you signup for beach volleyball? You’ve never played volleyball a day in your life!”

“I know! I was on the beach for my walk last Friday and I seen the sign up table and I literally just said fuck it.” Toni explained, leaving out the parts where she hasn’t felt like herself in a very long time and how becoming aware of her impending infertility issues played a major role in her taking on this new task. Josie nodded her head for a while before speaking, almost as if she was deciphering Toni’s words.

“Who’s the man or woman?” Josie asked nonchalantly.

“What?” Toni blinked.

“Is there a man or woman a part of this volleyball team that persuaded your judgement?” Josie questioned this time while looking at her nails. 

“There is no one persuading my judgement, I am simply going because I want to.” Toni said trying her best to sound believable. Josie didn’t question her anymore, she nodded her head listening to what Toni was saying.

“Okay boo, if you say so. If this is something that you truly want to do then I’ll support it.” She said genuinely, Toni was relieved that the bantering had ended. 

“Seriously?” Toni asked cautiously.

“Yup, seriously. I’ll be the loudest one at all of your games, and so will the boys.” Josie said. Toni’s eyes widened and she put her head into the palm of her hands. She knew for sure that Sweet Pea and Fangs would never let her live this down.

“I forgot to tell them.” Toni mumbled into her hands, Josie laughed once more before walking around the counter and playfully patting Toni’s back. 

“Good luck with that, now hurry, go get dressed. I’m ready to see you in those spandex girl!”

Toni groaned and made her way into her room to change. She settled on black spandex with a matching sports bra with a white top to cover her. Once she grabbed her bag with a change of clothes and beach towel she headed out of the door listening to the whistling and cat calling coming from Josie. 

Toni arrived at the beach 15 minutes before practice started. She spotted the area where the volleyball net had been installed and made her way over there. She noticed a group of women talking and offered everyone small greetings before heading over to a spot where she could lay her things down. After setting her bag down she scoped out the scenery trying not to feel awkward for not knowing anyone else on the team. She noticed someone walking up to her so she hurried and composed herself as if she hadn’t been standing alone this entire time.

“Hi!” A woman about Toni’s height and skin complexion greeted excitedly, extending her right hand, “I’m Tabitha, Head Jewel.” 

“Oh, hey! You must be the co-captain, I’m Toni.” Toni pointed out, taking the other girls hand into her own, shaking it softly. 

Tabitha smiled in pride, releasing Toni’s hand. “Yes! That’s me, I wanted to introduce myself. I saw you standing alone and figured you’d like some company, I know all the rest of the girls are pretty much talking like it's no tomorrow.” Tabitha giggled. Toni’s shoulders visibly relaxed at how casual Tabitha was, it was nice to talk to someone while everyone else was doing the same.

“Yea, I just signed up out of the blue on Friday so I don’t know anyone.” Toni chuckled nervously, Tabitha kept the same smile on her face while she listened to her.

“The diversity of the team may be a little overwhelming...”  Tabitha said as she eyeballed the rest of the girls, Toni’s gaze followed hers and understood where she was coming from. The team was filled with mostly white women. “But don’t worry, everyone’s nice and you’ll always have me!” She assured her. Toni was impressed.

“Just like that huh?” Toni teased. 

“Yup, just like that.” Tabitha said back with a quick wink. “Now come on, you’ll be on my team which is that side,” She said as she pointed to the opposite side of the net. “We’re going to play a quick pick up game against our other Head Jewels team before we start the real stuff. Sounds good?” 

Toni nodded nervously, “As long as I’m far in the back, kind of have no idea what I’m doing here.” 

Tabitha laughed loudly at Toni’s suggestion, “Oh Toni, we rotate positions as the game goes on so no one is truly in the back forever. Don’t worry, you’re not the only newbie here, it’ll be fine. Let’s go!” 

Tabitha drug Toni to their side of the net and placed Toni in the middle back. The smaller woman gave soft greetings to those around her and received some back. She stood awkwardly for a few moments before she heard a voice she could recognize from anywhere. 

“Well what do we have here? Looks like Tabby set us up for a pick up game before the drills, huh?” Cheryl said as she looked over at Tabitha who just shrugged her shoulders in return. “Okay I’ll let the fun come before the work just this once.” She continued while dropping her bags along with the others. Toni took in her appearance, the redhead was wearing red shorts with a white sports bra, her hair laid in waves down her shoulders. 

“Okay, for the newbies, just hit the ball when it comes to you.” Cheryl giggled. “It’s not the end of the world if it goes out of bounds or not over the net. We’ll teach you everything you need to know as practice goes on. So let’s get this started.” She reassured the few ladies who knew nothing about the sport. Toni found it endearing how carefree Cheryl and Tabitha were being towards the newcomers. It definitely made her feel more welcomed. 

Once everyone was properly placed the game began. Tabitha and Cheryl mainly controlled the speed of the game, there were other teammates that knew a little about what they were doing so it made the game go by smoothly. Eventually, Toni caught on to the stances that the other girls were doing and did the same. The first rotation caught her a little off guard but by the third time they rotated Toni knew the way to go without correction. The game intensified as both Tabitha and Cheryl figured everyone were comfortably getting the hang of the game. Toni hit the ball with force and gained a point for her team and she couldn’t deny the glance that Cheryl sent her way. It made her want to keep the momentum going. That motivation was short lived however because Cheryl called for the end of the game to start on some actual drills. 

The two captains split them up into teams and each team practiced a skill and rotated skills after every ten minutes. Toni socialized with those who were on her team easily, she was placed mostly newcomers as well which she was grateful for. Toni realized that she was a better server than any other position so she silently declared that as her specialty.

“Okay this drill is called The Butterfly.”  The redhead spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. “It goes as such: serve to passer, pass to target, target goes back to serve.” She explained, then her and Tabitha began to demonstrate to ensure that the team knew what to do. The drill began and Toni quickly understood how intensive these drills can be especially if you’re new to the sport. There were times where Toni felt as if she couldn’t keep up and needed to take a moment to sit out but she stuck through it, even if it meant every limb on her body was burning.

After what seemed like hundreds of drills and many rotations later, practice finally came to a close. Toni had sweated through her white shirt, shaming herself for not choosing a darker color. Everyone looked as if they’d been through hell except for Tabitha and Cheryl who were in perfect shape and giggling at the many bodies lying on the sand trying to catch their breath. 

“Great job ladies! That will conclude our practice for today. I hope to see all of you next week at the same time, that’s when the real fun will get started!” Cheryl beamed. 

“A group chat will be made within the next week to keep everyone updated with practice schedules amongst other things as well. If you are interested in committing to be a Spiking Jewel then please come up to either me or Cheryl so that we can take down your sizes for uniforms!” Tabitha added.

Toni had a chance to catch her breath and gather her belongings and a bottle of water before choosing to walk over to Cheryl to give the redhead her sizing information. Sure, she could have gone to Tabitha but Cheryl was closer and less crowded. At least that's what Toni told herself. 

“Hi Toni.” Cheryl said brightly as she watched Toni approach her. Toni blushed slightly at the fact that Cheryl remembered her name. The redhead looked as if she barely broke a sweat. “You did great out there.”

Toni scuffed knowing that her performance was far from great, “Oh please, I could barely keep up.” 

“Hm, true, but you did it anyway and stuck it through so for that I admire you.” The taller woman beamed. “Also, you have a great serve, that’ll be very useful with some practice.” 

Toni shook her head taking a quick sip of water before staring at the woman in front of her, she wasn’t sure if Cheryl was flirting with her or normally this friendly. Whichever it was, it had Toni’s palms sweating. 

“Thank you, that means a lot coming from the head jewel herself.” Toni said with a mock bow gaining an eye roll from Cheryl. 

“This head jewel hopes to see you back next week. Seriously Toni, you have potential. You’ll be a great addition to the team.” Cheryl said softly.

Toni bit the inside of her lip at the compliment. “You sure do know how to recruit people, don’t you Cheryl?” She said with a chuckle, “Is there somewhere that I can write my sizing down?” Toni asked. Cheryl handed her a clipboard and a pen, Toni quickly filled out her information and handed everything back to Cheryl.

 “And don’t worry, I’ll be here, just be patient with me.”

Cheryl was about to respond but stopped once she felt her phone vibrating in her hand. She took a look at who’s calling and answered. “Hi baby!” She said brightly, Toni felt as if she was invading her privacy and began to walk away but Cheryl subtly stopped her by raising a finger. 

“Hi!” A child’s voice abrupted through the phone. Toni raised her eyebrow slightly, intrigued by the voice. She didn’t take Cheryl to be the mother type but you can never judge a book by its cover.

“I’m just finishing up practice, can I call you later?” The redhead asked in her softest voice. 

“Yes, I love you!” The child spoke back. 

“Love you too Juni. Bye bye.” Cheryl hung up the phone and looked at Toni apologetically. 

“Sorry about that, kids just don’t understand timeframes.” She apologized sincerely. 

“Oh no trust me I get it, I work with kids so it’s all good.” 

“Well continuing from before… I’ve been known to have an ounce or two of patience. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you out there again. Bye Toni.”  Cheryl said softly. Toni could literally feel the heat radiating off of her blushed cheeks. 

After their conversation, watching Cheryl walk away, and noticing her offer one last small smile before entering the parking lot, Toni realized that maybe Josie was right. Maybe there was another added factor that persuaded her to take this leap of faith.  

“Damnit,  Josie.” Toni mumbled to herself.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Ding 

Ding 

Ding

“What the hell.” Toni groaned waking up from her sleep. 

Ding 

“Shit!” Toni hissed, she rolled over to retrieve her phone from her nightstand instantly feeling the aftermath from practice the day before.

Unknown: Welcome to the official Spiking Jewelz gc ladies! ~Tabitha

Unknown: Yay! So excited! <3

Unknown: Yassss. 

Cheryl (Head Jewel): Tab I told you to start this gc later, some ppl aren’t a morning person LOL. 

Toni decided to join the conversation and quickly typed out a message. 

Toni: ^ Amen to that lmao. 

Cheryl (Head Jewel): Exactly, see, Toni agrees. 

It was the little things that made Toni a blushing mess. Cheryl remembered her name and apparently saved her number from their first conversation. 

Tabitha: Oh, don’t tell me you and Cheryl are the same, Toni. Just when I thought we were going to be friends LOL. 

Tabitha: Now I know exactly what I should save your name as *evil smirk*

Toni laughed at the message and closed her phone. She finally lifted from her laying position and groaned out loud once more wincing at her sore joints. Now that the adrenaline has left her system every limb in her body that could possibly hurt is doing just that. With one final stretch she stood from her bed and headed towards the shower. Josie had left to visit her dad last night after Toni returned home, claiming that she couldn’t leave without knowing every detail of practice. 

Entering the bathroom Toni took advantage of having the house to herself and decided to use the bathroom speaker this morning. It’s not like she couldn’t use it when Josie was home but she was the type of person that liked no one around when she played her playlist because of the different variety of music that could play at any given moment. She started her music opting on hitting the shuffle button to see where it takes her, a Kehlani song began to play and she began her routine. 

She brushed her teeth, did her skin care from start to finish and used her toothbrush as a microphone to finish out the song in the mirror. Once the song ended and the next song queued in, she stared at the mirror really taking in her appearance. That damn reflection. 

She sat her toothbrush down, put her hair into a high bun, stripped herself of her clothes, turned on the shower and placed herself back in front of the mirror. Now she stared at all of herself, her most vulnerable self. As much fun that she had on Friday and however many songs she can sing into the mirror, a part of herself was still missing. She found herself wondering why she had to be so self-aware, how she could notice the changes within her feelings so quickly and felt them so heavily. She even wondered what it would be like to not be intune with yourself, not being mentally functionable to want to make those changes to things that you notice are becoming negative to your mind. 

Whatever.

Toni escaped out of her own thoughts and entered the shower. She washed away all of the negativity and relieved in the feeling of the hot water loosening her stiff joints. After about 5 more songs and spotting her wrinkling fingers Toni decided that it was time to get out. She dried herself off and threw on some jogging pants and one of Fangs’ old hoodies and headed towards the kitchen. 

Getting tired after searching for options to eat, she threw two waffles into the toaster, poured herself a tall glass of orange juice and began scrolling on her phone to pass time. The device was practically burning into her hand from all of the messages from the group chat that Tabitha started this morning. Scrolling through the thread Toni didn’t notice anything that was worth commenting on, just the team reiterating their excitement and Tabitha doing the same. As she scrolled up farther to the part of the conversation that she did remember she saw a response from Cheryl, the redhead must’ve responded while she was in the shower.

Cheryl (Head Jewel): LMAO, Tab! Don’t scare Toni off, we’re going to need our future best server ;)

A smile crept on Toni’s face. Of course she isn’t smiling because of the possibility that Cheryl is flirting with her once again, no, she was smiling at the fact that the redhead thinks that she could be their best server. At least, once again, that was what Toni was trying to convince herself. Her waffles popped out of the toaster startling her. Just before closing her phone a notification appeared, a reminder to Call Dr. Karina. Toni dramatically groaned and took her waffles out of the toaster. She had set this reminder for herself on Thursday when she realized that she had been putting off scheduling an appointment with the doctor all week. It was now or never. Toni never broke a promise, not even to herself, so after she hurried and ate her waffles she picked up her phone and dialed the number to Dr. Karina’s office. 

“Hello?” Toni asked once she noticed the dial tone come to an end. A woman, who she assumed is the receptionist, picked up the phone and greeted her. “Hi! I’m Toni Topaz and was calling to see when is a good time for me to schedule an appointment with Dr. Karina?”

Keys began to clatter on the other line of the phone, Toni sat patiently awaiting a response. When the receptionist finally responded, it wasn't the ideal answer that Toni was hoping for. “She’s booked for the next three months?!” She all but yelled into the phone, she winced at herself afterwards.

Toni heard a sympathetic sigh from the receptionist and was told to hold once more, she took this time to calm herself down from her unexpected outburst. The woman returned to the phone with a rushed voice. “Within the next 15 minutes? No, no! That’s perfectly fine, I’ll be there. Thank you so much!” Toni said hurriedly over the phone, speechless at how quick she was able to get squeezed into the doctor’s tight schedule. She didn’t have time to change and make herself look presentable, the most she could do was throw on her shoes and take her hair out of its bun. She grabbed her work bag that had her medical papers in it and her keys and left out of her home. 

The day was in her favor because the streets of LA were rarely crowded, or maybe Toni just pushed her luck and sped the entire way. Regardless, she made it to the office with five minutes to spare. When she approached the doors she noticed how the interior design didn’t make her feel as if she was in a doctors office, the decor made it feel as if she had stepped foot into a hotel. She approached the receptionist's desk and a woman, who looked about middle-aged, lifted her head and gave her a warm smile. Toni assumed that it was the same woman who snuck her appointment in.

“Hi, I’m Toni Topaz. I called earlier and was able to get an appointment with Dr. Karina.” Toni informed the receptionist. 

“Yes, Ms. Topaz! That was me who you spoke with earlier. I’m Kim.” The lady spoke, standing from behind her desk and extending her hand to shake Toni’s. Toni shook the lady’s hand and released it.

“Dr. Karina is a very hard woman to get in with but from your distress over the phone I figured it was only right to squeeze you in.” Kim chuckled while she gathered papers for Toni to sign before handing them to her.

Toni felt embarrassed about their encounter over the phone, “My apologies about that, it’s been a rough couple of days.” Toni sighed apologetically. The lady shook her head and waved her hand, not phased by the situation.

“No trust me, I get it. It’s fine, really. Just fill out those forms for me and then I can get you sent in the back to get started.” Kim instructed, Toni headed for the bubblegum pink plush chairs that sat a few feet away from Kim’s desk and started to fill in her information. It didn’t take her long to do so, all of her information was practically instilled in the front of her brain, from insurance numbers down to her specific blood type. Once she was finished, Kim retrieved the forms and escorted Toni towards the examination rooms. Now it is starting to feel like being in the doctor's office again. The luminous lights and the many educational posters never failed to anger her. 

Kim made a stop at one of the doors and knocked twice before entering. Toni followed behind her. 

“Doctor? Toni Topaz is here, the one that I squeezed in over the phone.” Kim alerted, a tall woman then stood from her chair, she was just about Josie’s skin tone, her hair was braided perfectly which gave Toni the idea to maybe do the same with her hair again one day.

“Thank you Kim. Hello Ms. Topaz, I’m Dr. Karina.” The woman introduced herself. Her voice wasn’t masculine but one could tell that she could hold the attention of any room she desires. 

“Please, call me Toni.” Toni said politely before stepping to the side to allow Kim to leave. Once Kim left and closed the door behind her Dr. Karina waved her hand, suggesting that Toni sit, so she did. “Thank you for seeing me, I know your schedule is quite full.” Toni laughed nervously because if she’s being completely honest, she is nervous. Being in the office of a fertility specialist has boosted her anxiety immensely, the deep breaths that she has been taking since she sat down has been assisting her however. 

“Oh it’s totally fine. In all honesty it pains me to have to make people wait so long to have a visit with me, but I guess that just means that I’m doing my job correctly.” Dr. Karina said sincerely. Toni didn’t respond as she was trying her best to stay focused on her breathing. As if Dr. Karina felt her anxiousness, she placed a hand over Toni’s with a small sigh. 

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. You’re in my hands now and I’m going to do everything in my power to help you. I promise.” The doctor said removing her hand from atop of Toni’s, it made Toni relax into her chair a little bit more. It also reminded her of something that she would say to her kids at school whenever they were nervous about being in her office. 

“Thank you.” Toni responded softly, “I’m just… unsure about everything.” 

“That is perfectly okay. That’s what I’m here for, to help you understand. Now tell me a little about your situation and then I’ll go over everything that we’ll be doing today.” The doctor encouraged Toni.

“Well,” Toni started, “All that I am aware of is that my current egg count is not at the amount that it should be for my age, which is 25, and that the older I get it will continue to dwindle and make it harder for me to have kids. Does that sound about right?” Toni asked. 

“Yes Toni.” Dr. Karina giggled softly, “I’ve seen many women in your situation and there were plenty who have had successful pregnancies with my help. Are you currently trying to become pregnant?” She asked. Toni genuinely laughed at her question. She knew that it was protocol but it just didn’t apply to Toni at the moment.

“Sorry it’s just, I am in no position to even begin to think about having kids. It’s just the thought of when I’m ready to take that step with someone that I might not have the chance to that scares me.” Toni admitted. 

“I understand, that is a common worry. So, how about I begin to tell you what we’re doing today?” The doctor asked, Toni nodded her head in response. “We’re going to go down the hall and get an ultrasound so that I can assess your ovaries, just to confirm that everything you currently know about your medical condition is accurate, then we’ll draw some blood and finally take some tests. This way by our next visit we’ll have an idea on how to better treat you. Sounds good?” 

“Sounds great, lead the way.” Toni said nervously. She felt her anxiety rising and part of her wanted to run out of here and never step foot in another doctor’s office again but she refrained. She had made it this far, it was now or never.

When Toni arrived back home it was three hours later and exhaustion weighed heavily on her body. The ultrasound was Toni’s least favorite part about her visit, the gel across her belly made her highly uncomfortable. The last three tests and the drawing of her blood wasn’t that dreadful but it was still time consuming. Toni was thankful that her doctor was patient and kind with her. Any question that Toni had Dr. Karina answered thoroughly to leave no room for misconception. She talked Toni through the different types of treatments and how they helped improve fertility. Because she didn’t want to overwhelm Toni with all of the information at once Dr. Karina scheduled to see her back within 2 weeks when all the results would be in.

Not having enough energy to head towards her room Toni went into the living room and plopped onto the couch. She kicked her shoes off and laid backwards sighing in the feeling of finally being home. Her phone rang loudly in her bag, she blindly reached for it noticing an incoming call from Josie, she answered.

“Hey Jos.” Toni said flatly.

Ew, why do you sound like that?” Josie asked, Toni could feel the darker girl turning her nose in disgust.

“I just got back home. I ran some errands all morning so I’m tired.” Toni half-heartedly explained.

Oh, well I was calling you because I just left from Thomas’ trailer and he said he hasn’t spoken to you in about a week and a half! Told me to tell you to call him.” Josie said, her voice sounded worried. Toni palmed her face with her free hand, she knows that it was unusual for her to go so long without talking to her grandfather. The truth was, Toni knew that if she called him after learning the news from the doctor that she would break down over the phone and she didn’t want her grandpa to worry. 

“Yea, I’ve been so busy with work I guess time got away from me. I’ll make sure to call him tonight.” Toni responded. 

T, seriously, is everything okay? It’s unlike you to go even a day without talking to Thomas, so an entire week and then some? Is something going on?” Josie asked almost pleadingly. It broke Toni’s heart to have to keep lying to Josie when she didn’t have to but for right now she can’t find it in herself to tell her best friend the truth for whatever reason. 

“I’m fine Jos, I swear. It’s just been a very busy couple of days with work that’s all.” Toni said trying to sound as sincere as possible, the other line however was quiet which made her to believe that Josie was going to try to force the truth out of her. Before that scenario was even possible Toni took it upon herself to end the conversation.

“Look, I’m about to call my grandpa to let him know that I’m okay. I’m serious Josie, don’t worry about me I’m fine.” 

“Okay, if you say so girl. Love you.” Josie said with a large sigh.

“Love you too, tell your dad that I said hi.” Toni said. Josie let Toni know that she would relay the message and the pair disconnected from each other. Toni stared at the ceiling, dreading the call she was about to make. She loved her grandfather dearly, he was the most comforting and loving man that she’s ever known. Which is why Toni could never lie to him or keep up a façade around him, he always saw right through her. As much as she didn’t want to dump all of her problems onto him she was desperately in need of his words of wisdom. 

Toni dialed his number and put the phone back up to her ear awaiting an answer, the phone rang for a few times before she heard the voice that she’d missed so much.

Christmas came early.” Thomas rasped through the phone, “If it isn’t my Nettie.” 

Toni smiled at the nickname, she hated to hear it growing up but has grown to love it. “Hi grandpa.” 

“You know it worries me when I have to talk to my bonus granddaughter in order to get in touch with my actual one.” The man laughed but worry was laced in his voice.

“I know. I’m sorry grandpa.” Toni apologized sincerely. “I’ve just been kind of busy.”

I know what you sound like when you’re busy, Nettie. How you sound right now is not busy, it’s worried.” He pointed out. Toni remained silent for a bit, trying to keep her tears at bay. After a moment she finally spoke.

“Grandpa, have you ever gone through a midlife crisis?” Toni asked suddenly, the question caught the older man off guard.

“Yes. When me and your nana separated, I dyed my beard black to show her that I’m still the man.” He said with a hearty laugh, Toni rolled her eyes as if he could see her through the phone. “However, I know that you’re not growing grey hairs nor staring at your belly rolls every morning in the mirror wishing that you could go back to your glory days. What’s on your mind Antoinette?” 

There it was. The stream of silent tears that began to roll down her cheeks. It was nothing more that Toni wanted than to be in her grandpa’s arms, she regretted not taking the short trip with Josie now. Thomas didn’t push for her to speak as he waited patiently on the other end of the phone. 

“I just haven’t been feeling like myself grandpa and I don’t know why.” Toni whispered through her tears as if she was that same little girl crying on her grandpa’s lap when she fell off of her bike for the first time. “I want to be that happy, vibrant and carefree girl again but I’m just not. I look in the mirror and when I stare at myself I see nothing.”

“How long have you been feeling like this?”

“I don’t know, a couple of weeks maybe.” She answered.

Is that all that’s been on your mind? Are you holding out on me?” The man pushed a little harder.

“Grandpa.” Toni whined, sniffling back more tears.

“Okay. I won’t push you Nettie. Just know there is no battle that you can’t fight. You are the strongest woman that I know, sometimes too strong for your own damn good.” He chuckled sadly , “But you need to allow people to help you Antoinette. Sure, you can overcome any hurdle but it sure as hell hurts doing it alone. I don’t know what’s going with you and you don’t have to tell me right this instant but just know to breathe, take it all in at once, allow yourself to feel every single emotion so that way you can learn how to heal and move forward.” Thomas concluded with passion. Toni was in full tears at this point, she can’t remember the last time she’d cried so much in such a small time frame. Her grandfather was right, she wasn’t allowing herself to feel. She was constantly keeping this burden a secret from the people that she loved the most and hiding this part of her life was weighing her down.

Grandpa’s got you Nettie, forever and always.” He said softly in a hushing tone breaking Toni out her thoughts. She squeezed her eyes shut and wiped away her tears before taking a deep breath.

“Thank you grandpa, I needed that. I’m sorry that I haven’t called.”

“Anytime, that’s what I’m here for. Now, get you some rest. Something tells me that you need it.” He said.

Toni sighed sinking further into the couch cushions as possible, “I do, I really do.”

I love you.”

“I love you too grandpa, thanks again for everything.” Toni said, they both bid their goodbyes and hung up the phone. 

Toni sat her phone on the floor beneath her and laid still, she didn’t have a desire to move or do anything for that matter. Although talking to her grandfather was helpful, like always, it was draining as well. He made her realize that she’s been going about this situation wrong all along. Toni had been pitying herself before she even knew the outcome of her situation. She still had a chance to fight, to overcome this. After pondering over her grandfather's words, Toni allowed the exhaustion to take over her. She closed her eyes and drifted off into a calm sleep.

When she woke, her phone read that it was a little after 8pm, she slept for almost five hours. Toni finally lifted from the couch with a huff. She thought that rest would help her mind calm itself down but her thoughts were still heavy. She had no desire to cry anymore. It was only one place that could ease her mind. 


Fifteen minutes later Toni found herself walking along the shore of the beach trying to free her mind from worry. She dared to go closer, walking close enough to the water so that she could feel the waves crashing on her toes. Normally she would save her walks for Friday and Sunday but tonight was definitely an exception. 

She tried to keep her mind as clear as possible but her grandfather’s words replayed in her head like a broken record. She didn’t succumb to her sadness, she continued to walk the line of the shore. Enjoying the sounds of the waves crashing repeatedly. That was until she heard her a voice call out her name.

“Toni.” A voice said behind the woman, startling her. She turned around quickly and when she did her muscles relaxed when she realized that it was Cheryl. 

“Shit Cheryl, you startled me.” Toni chuckled feeling like an idiot. 

“I’m so sorry.” Cheryl said immediately. “I just saw you walking like a robot and wanted to see if you were okay.” She giggled. 

“Oh, yea. I’m fine just… escaping my own head I guess.” 

“I get that.” Cheryl said nonchalantly.

“What are you doing here this late?” Toni asked curiously. 

“Well I have two six year olds who are running around my place at all hours of the night so this is my only chance at tranquility.” 

“Right. You have… twins? I’m guessing.”

Cheryl laughed, “No, I have a nephew and niece that so happen to be twins. They’re my brother's kids.” 

Toni was oddly relieved at this information.

“Them and their mom are staying with me until my brother gets back home from a business trip. They all just recently moved to LA.” Cheryl continued, Toni nodded her head along. 

“That’s very nice of you, sorry I just assumed that they were yours after I heard you on the phone with one of them on Friday.” 

“No problem at all, I love them as if they were such.” Cheryl hesitated before speaking her next words. 

“I was just over there playing around with my volleyball, maybe you could keep me company?” She offered, Toni’s eyes widened not expecting the invitation. “I mean, you said that you were escaping your own head and I’m escaping my own house so maybe we could help each other.” 

“I… uh… yea, yea sure.” Toni stumbled over her words, cringing at the sound of her voice cracking. Cheryl found it amusing. 

The girls walked the short distance back to the volleyball net in awkward silence. Once they arrived Toni took off her hoodie, thanking God that she had put a bra and shirt on, and clapped her hands together.

“So, what do you want to work on?”

“Well since you’re the newbie how about you tell me something that you’d like to learn and I’ll teach you.” The redhead suggested.

Toni thought for a moment, “What’s that move where my arms are over my head and I’m basically passing the ball to the next person?”

Cheryl giggled again, “That’s setting the ball, you’re setting your teammate up to score a point. Come on, we can work on that. Go to the other side of the net.” She instructed.

Once Toni reached the other side she stood about the same length away that Cheryl was standing from the opposite side of the net. 

“Okay, for right now, we’ll start off simply with the hand-arm motion and then we’ll ease into foot coordination.” Cheryl began, “So you’re going to extend your arms above your head, making sure your hands are above your forehead, as such, and then with your hands you want to form a shape of a triangle and hit the ball to your designation or teammate. Since it’s just the two of us you’ll set it towards me.” Cheryl demonstrated thoroughly before setting the ball to Toni. The latter caught the ball and imitated the movements that were just taught to her, setting the ball back to Cheryl nervously.

“How was that?” 

“Great, now let’s keep it going.” Cheryl encouraged. The pair began to set the ball back and forth between each other. Toni enjoyed having a personal session with Cheryl, per say. The redhead was a very patient instructor. As they got into a steady rhythm with their passes Toni decided to start conversation.

“Do you usually work on drills by yourself?” She asked while setting the ball back to Cheryl.

“Not typically,” Cheryl said with a grunt. “Tab comes with me sometimes, tonight I just ventured off by myself.” 

“You and Tabitha are close, like outside of the team as well?”

“Yes, that’s been my best friend since college. We’re literally the same person. I don’t know what I’d do without her honestly.” Cheryl responded with a smile. Toni could relate as she felt the same about her three best friends.

“I understand that, I have three best friends that I couldn’t imagine living without.” Toni huffed trying to catch the set, noticing Cheryl picking up the pace of their small practice, she began to move positions with every set. Toni took note and started to do the same.

“And here I am unable to imagine having more than one best friend. Tabitha and I were… an unique pair to be around in college.” The redhead reminisced.

“There’s a story there.” Toni pointed out with a smirk, she held the volleyball between her arm and her side waiting for  Cheryl to continue her story. Cheryl placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes as she walked a little closer towards the net.

“Let’s just say that we never hesitated to let someone hear our unwarranted comments. Now, enough of that. I wanted to show you something about your form.” She said crouching under the net and standing behind Toni. She placed her hands on her shoulders softly and guided her farther away from the net. Toni prayed to anyone who was listening that Cheryl didn’t feel her body shiver and heat up from her touch. 

“Like I have mentioned before, you are a great server.” Cheryl said behind her ear. “But I think you would be more powerful doing an underhand serve than an overhand serve, considering your height.”

“Hey!” Toni said in faux offense, “You’re not that much taller than me.” 

“I know but that’s not the point right now.” Cheryl diverted. “Is it okay if I guide your hands the proper way?”

“Yes!” Toni responded too eagerly, she quickly got her words together.  “I mean, yea… go ahead, you’re the expert here.” She blushed.

Cheryl took the arm that held the volleyball and straightened it out in front of Toni’s body, she then took Toni’s freehand within her own and curled it into a fist. Cheryl’s palms were sweating and her hands shook slightly, Toni wondered if she felt the same nerves as her. 

“You’re going to take the hand that holds the ball and make sure that the ball rests on your palm in front of your body just above your hips. Then, you are going to bring your fist back at the same time you release the ball upwards. Finally, you serve the ball.” Cheryl directed softly close to Toni’s ear. The shorter woman can feel her mouth getting dry, she couldn’t remember the last time that a person made her feel this shy and awkward.

With shaking hands and careful concentration, Toni went through all of the steps that Cheryl just instructed and served the ball with force. It went over the net and traveled a little way down the sand, Toni was proud of herself. 

“Wow! That was good!” Toni exclaimed.

“Yay! I knew you were the best!” Cheryl happily said before running to catch the ball before it rolled any further. Toni watched her run, grab the ball and run back with a wide small plastered on her face. Without hiding it Toni smiled back widely at the woman not missing the bright red tinge on her cheeks as she approached her.

“Well I was taught by the best so, no surprise there.” Toni rasped.

“You flatter me, Toni.” Cheryl said in a hushed voice. They stared at each other momentarily, as if both women were simply absorbing the other’s beauty with no shame. Cheryl’s eyes were captivating not to mention how stunning she looked glowing under the stars. Toni took her eyes off of Cheryl and stared at the sky above them, taking in a long inhale of air that she didn’t know she needed. 

“It’s getting pretty late.” Cheryl observed. 

“Yea, it is.” Toni agreed, disappointed that their night is coming to an end. “Thank you for inviting me to work on these drills, I enjoyed myself.”

“It’s truly no problem, I enjoyed myself too.” 

Toni walked over to grab her abandoned hoodie, Cheryl followed her to grab her bag as well.

“I’ll see you Friday, for practice, right?” Toni asked, knowing the answer already.

“Right, yes you will.” Cheryl said. She opened and closed her mouth as if she wanted to speak like she had done earlier, Toni waited on her to say what was on her mind. “You know, we don’t have to wait until practice to see each other.”

Oh.

“I mean, you know, to work on drills and practice your form and stuff.” Cheryl quickly cleaned up, stumbling over her words.

Oh.

“You have my number so if you ever wanted to get some practice in before the actual practice just let me know.” Cheryl concluded, through the dark skies her cheeks were the only source of light, outshining the stars with the redness took over way more than she wanted it to.

Toni couldn’t hide her goofy grin, “I will take you up on that offer, head jewel.” She mocked, Cheryl rolled her eyes.

“I’ll be looking forward to that, goodnight Toni.” The redhead said before turning her heels and walking in the opposite direction. 

“Goodnight Cheryl.” Toni said, mostly to herself, wondering why in the hell she hadn’t signed up for beach volleyball sooner.

Notes:

So how are we liking the beach babes so far? And how long do you think Toni can keep her "secret" a secret? As always thanks for reading, don't forget to comment to tell me how you enjoyed it or lmk on twitter @vxnessxstan!

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Let’s have a baby.” Toni breathes as she spins around in Fangs’ desk chair in his office. He stops from organizing the papers on his desk, choking on laughter. It was Tuesday afternoon, Toni had just finished an easy workday and was in too good of a mood to head straight home so instead she stopped by Fangs’ office to bother the man. 

“Let’s do what?” 

“Have a baby.” She breathes again as if it was nothing. 

“No—Hell no.” Fangs says, shaking his head and laughing at Toni’s ridiculousness. 

“Don’t say that as if I'm unattractive.” Toni said, arching her eyebrow.

“I didn't say that. It’s just…you’re like my sister—that’s weird.” Fangs explained. 

“Ew okay I'm not saying…that. What I'm saying is you’ve always wanted to have kids—I want kids and currently need to have them fast so let’s head down to someone’s doctor's office and have a baby. As besties!” 

“No Toni. Still weird.” Fangs concluded. He sat on top of his desk looking down at an overdramatic  Toni twirling lifelessly in his chair. He reached his hand out to stop her turning and was met with the pout of a century. “The pout only works when you want an extra turn on the game T.” 

“You suck and you have no sense of adventure.” Toni huffed. 

“No lies have been told. Now, what’s gotten into you?” 

Toni waited a second before answering. “I talked to my grandpa. I didn't tell him everything but he really opened my eyes a little. I’m overcomplicating things with my condition. So I'm taking action about it instead of dwelling in my sorrow.” 

“Your version of taking action is harassing the first man you see into having a baby?” He asked sarcastically, receiving a punch to the back. 

“Shut up. I don’t need a man to have a baby. If I had a girl right now we’d be diving head first into the pool of donors.” 

Fangs mocked a bow on top of his desk, “Of course my bisexual princess.” 

“God, do you ever stop?” 

“It has been a while since you had a girlfriend though. The last guy you dated was…something.” Fangs said as he maneuvered around the small space cleaning.

“You had no reason to hate Munroe, he was literally the most likeable guy in the world.” Toni reminisced.

“If he was so likeable why aren’t you two still together?” Fangs challenged. 

“Need to know information Fogarty.” Toni dismissed. Their playful banter came to a cease. Toni pulled out her phone checking her missed notifications. There were many emails from her students, a plethora of missed texts from the Jewelz group chat and surprisingly a text from Cheryl. 

Cheryl: Going to be at the beach tomorrow, just in case you decided to stroll by lol. 

Cheryl: God, that sounded creepy. I’m not stalking you. I’m awkward, sorry. 

Toni giggled to herself imagining the redhead’s nervousness. While being warped into her phone, Toni didn’t realize Fangs stood behind her. 

“Cheryl, huh?” He says, startling Toni. She quickly twirled around in his chair. 

“Privacy much?” 

“No such thing when you’re blushing like an 8th grader. Spill.” Fangs demanded. 

“I met her at the beach.” Toni said choosing not to disclose the true details. “It’s nothing, really.” 

Toni: Lmao. Not creepy at all. I usually go to the beach on weekends but I’ll make an exception for tomorrow. 

“That response isn’t just nothing.” Fangs teased. This time Toni locked her phone completely. 

“Seriously?” 

“Is she hot?” Fangs asked determined to get more information out of his best friend. Toni rolled her eyes, taking a moment to remember Cheryl and her features. A smirk appeared on her lips.

“The baddest.”

“Damn T!” Fangs cheered. “It’s like that?”

“She’s gorgeous—she seems soft and sweet but you can tell she’s a badass.” Toni tries her best to sum up an image of Cheryl without going into full detail. Fangs nod and whistles lowly.

“So what’s stopping you?”

Toni shrugged her shoulders, “She makes me shy and literally no one on earth is capable of that. Plus, I don’t know if she’s into women or if she’s just friendly.” 

“Never know unless you try. Ask her out.”

“Nope. Not happening.” Before Fangs could offer a rebuttal Toni’s phone rang in her pocket. She saw that it was Josie and answered it, lifting her middle towards Fangs with her tongue out as a childish taunt.

“Hello.” Toni sang into her phone. 

Hey girlie! I ran into Sweets at the sandwich and soup place that we love and was about to have an early dinner. We wanted to see if you could come. We were going to call Fangs up too.” Josie said.

“I’m actually with Fangs right now. He’s on the clock still but I’m free. I’ll meet you guys there in 20.” Toni informed the latter. After hanging up the phone Toni jumped out of the desk chair and gathered her bag and jacket. 

Fangs stood confused, “Where are you headed?”

“Early dinner with Sweets and Josie. Enjoy the rest of your day!” Toni said as she exited his office after patting his shoulder. Fangs shook his head and continued cleaning his office.


Toni arrived at the small cafe 20 minutes later. During her drive there she decided that she would update her two best friends on everything that has been going on in her life recently. She realized that she was being unfair keeping this information from them. When she entered she asked to be seated with her friends who already occupied their favorite booth. 

“My favorite people!” Toni cheered as she approached and entered the side where Josie was seated. Sweet Pea and Josie both shared a look of confusion at her cheerful demeanor. 

“Uhh, everything okay T?” Sweet Pea questioned.

“You seem...Jittery.” Josie added. 

“I can’t be happy to see my best friends?” Toni asked looking down at the menu although she knew what she wanted to order. The waitress quickly came and collected everyone’s orders and brought out some drinks. 

“How was your trip back home Jos?” Sweet Pea asked, taking a sip of his drink. Toni giggled at the size comparison of the small glass and straw in his hands. 

“Lovely. I’ve never seen my dad so relaxed. I’m really glad that he’s finally taking time off for himself, music has been his world for as long as I can remember.” 

“Good for him, he deserves it. Now it’s your turn.” Toni added with a nod. 

“It’s definitely my turn.” Josie cockily said.

“And what about my guy Thomas? How’s he been?” Sweet Pea asked.

“As sweet as can be. He was much better after I had to beg this one to return his phone calls.” Josie said, giving Toni the side eye. Toni shrugged in return.

“I’ve been busy, so I apologized to him. It’s all good.” Toni stated. She took a rather large sip of her drink, she figured now is a better time than ever to bring up this conversation. “We actually had a really great talk and it made me want to tell you guys something…” She trailed off. Sweet Pea and Josie’s interests were piqued.

“What’s up?—”

“What’s going on?”

Toni took a deep sigh before she began, her face turned red, she was nervous. “Well two weeks ago—”

“Oh my god! Toni!” A chipper voice beamed as it approached the table. Toni was just as startled at Josie and Sweet Pea was until she recognized that the voice came from Tabitha. The woman took a stop in front of the booth. 

“Tabitha—hi! How are you?” Toni greeted. She was sort of relieved that Tabitha had interrupted them. 

“Doing pretty good. Cheryl’s crashing at my house tonight so I decided to pick us up some sandwiches.” Tabitha explained, missing the blush that appeared on Toni’s cheeks at the mention of Cheryl. Tabitha scanned the booth noticing an intrigued Josie and a practically drooling Sweet Pea. “I’m so sorry for just interrupting. Hi, how are you guys? I’m Tabitha.” 

“Hey, I’m Josie. I love your hair.” Josie complimented. 

“I’m Jordan. Nice to meet you.” Sweet Pea introduced himself in a rather raspy voice. Josie and Toni both turned to look at him in shock once they heard him introduce himself with his first name. Toni shook her head knowing that could only mean one thing. 

“Well I should get going, the princess awaits.” Tabitha teased. “I’ll see you on Friday Toni. It was nice meeting you Josie...and Jordan.” She walked away with one last glance at Sweet Pea. 

“Jordan, huh?” Josie scuffed, giving Sweet Pea a knowing look.

“Nice to meet you.” Toni mocked in a low voice unable to contain her laughter which was followed by the sound of Josie’s laughter as well.

“Joke all you want but you cannot deny that she was fine as hell.” Sweet Pea admitted with no shame. There was no disagreement, Tabitha was an attractive woman. “She said she was seeing you Friday. What’s that about?” 

“That’s...what I was trying to tell you!” Toni quickly lied, “I kind of joined a beach volleyball team 2 weeks ago and Tabitha is the head coach.” Toni admitted.

It was the truth, just not all of it. “Josie knew about it already but I haven’t told you or Fangs yet so I wanted you to know.” 

It took all of a second before Sweet Pea’s head fell back in laughter. Toni huffed and turned to Josie who immediately turned her head away because she knew that she would laugh as well. 

“Why is that everyone’s first reaction?”

“Toni. You don’t play sports.” The man giggled. “Now be honest with me…” He trailed off leaving Toni in suspense. “You’re into Tabitha aren’t you? That’s the reason you joined?” 

“That’s the same thing that I asked her! Seeing Tabitha definitely explains it now.” Josie chimed in. Toni thought they were ridiculous, if only they knew that she favored her best friend. 

“Why does wanting to try something new have to be a result of my liking of someone?”

“Dude, you literally bought hella NFL books because Munroe was into football.” Sweet Pea pointed out. 

“Can we just leave Munroe in the past?” Toni asked, mainly referring to Fangs bringing up her ex earlier. “When I’m with someone I just want to be able to connect with their interest. Not that this is the case now, however. Tabitha is a good looking woman but I’m not interested in her.” 

“Good. That would’ve made asking her out much harder.” Sweet Pea smirked proudly. 

Toni rolled her eyes hard. After a few minutes of teasing Sweet Pea, their food arrived and they all begin to dig in. The conversation was light, mostly of the three best friends sharing stories about their day and their plans for the weekend. Toni decided that she’ll tell them the real news later on this week not wanting to dampen the mood. This was the week that she would for sure get her shit together. 


“Come in!” Toni yells from behind her desk. It’s the next day, after her dinner she went home and prepared herself for the next day of work. 

Principal Weatherbee entered her office and threw a folder down on her desk. 

“Charles Clayton’s grades this week.” He says simply. Toni takes the folder in hand and skims through it, noticing a dramatic decrease of his grades. Toni sighed and leaned back into her chair. 

“I’ll have to contact his dad. I have three students to see before the day is over so make sure he knows to see me first thing tomorrow morning, no exceptions.” Toni demanded. Weatherbee shook his head and left her office. 

Toni rummaged through computer files to find Charles’ information, she wrote down Chuck's number and dialed it immediately. 

You’ve got Chuck!” The man answered. 

“Hello Mr. Clayton. This is Ms. Topaz from Harbor Middle, do you have a moment?” Toni professionally greeted, hoping that Chuck would remain professional as well. 

Ms. Topaz? Is Cj alright? ” He panicked over the phone. 

“Charles is fine. I was actually calling to see if we could schedule a meeting in regards to his grades. They’ve dropped drastically within the past week.” Toni informed. 

She heard the man sigh on the other end of the phone, “Right. Can the meeting be today? I’m not sure if I’m going to have any free time after today.” 

“Yes, that's perfectly fine. Can you meet me in my office in 30 minutes? We can talk during my lunch break” 

I’ll be there with bells on.” Chuck said. 

Thirty minutes later Chuck arrived, he knocked nervously on Toni’s door before he was being told to enter. He walked in with two coffee cups in his hand, placing one in front of Toni. 

“An apology for my son's apparent misbehavior.” Chuck said with a sad chuckle as he sat down in the leather chair in front of Toni. 

Toni nodded and slid the cup closer to her but didn’t drink from it, she didn’t plan on doing so at all. “Thank you but I don’t think it’s misbehavior. Maybe just some type of misunderstanding.” 

Chuck sipped his coffee slowly, staring into Toni’s eyes so deeply that she for sure knew he was no longer interested in the conversation about his son. She continued to push the conversation. 

“From what I can see, his grades aren’t falling because he doesn’t understand the work—he has good grades in participation and quizzes. They're falling because he isn’t turning any work in—specifically homework or half-completing in class assignments because he’s sleeping.” 

Chuck sat his coffee on top of Toni’s desk and leaned back into his chair blowing out a huff of air as if he’s a student in the woman’s office. “Okay. How do you suggest we go about fixing this?” 

Toni thought back to her first time meeting Charles. He mentioned how much he had been training for football which Toni thought was ridiculous given his young age. She promised that she wouldn’t disclose their conversation with a parent, and she never breaks promises. So instead, she decided to ease Chuck into giving her some insight as to how extensive this training really is. 

“Well, I think a start would be to have someone monitor him while doing homework until he can be trusted to do it on his own. Also maybe sending him to bed early to resolve the sleeping issue.” 

Charles shook his head with a small laughter, leaning up in his chair. “Charles is in the running for varsity football this year. Did he tell you that?” 

“He’s mentioned it.” 

“Right. He has a trainer that he works with everyday to build up his stamina and speed—and that’s everyday after school. So monitoring him while he does his homework would be kind of difficult considering that he’s training.” 

Bingo.

Toni knew that it was a parent’s influence behind Charles’ determination to football. She tried her best to keep her facial expressions neutral even though she wanted nothing more than to tell Chuck off for putting so much strain on this child.

“Is there any way that you could decrease the time spent in his training to devote it towards academic work?” Toni asked with her head tilted.

Chuck stared at her for a moment with a half smile appearing on his lips. He moved the leather chair closer towards Toni’s desk and rested his arms on top, Toni straightened her posture in her chair.

“Ms. Topaz—may I ask—do you have children?” He asked suddenly.

Toni’s eyes widened, she was taken aback by his question. She cleared her throat and met his energy by returning the same crooked smile, “Not that it is any of your business nor relevant to our conversation, no I do not.”

“I see. Listen, when you have kids sometimes you see the things in them that they don’t necessarily see themselves—their strengths and weaknesses.” Chuck began, Toni crossed her arms arounds her chest trying to figure out where this speech was headed. “Cj, he’s a sports guy. You’ve seen his build. He’s a big guy who can make it big in any sport he chooses and I can see that but he doesn’t. So training and making the varsity football team is to show him his true strengths. So academic work would have to be handled in school because at home we just don’t have enough time for it.”

Toni wasn’t shocked at how dense Chuck seemed to be but moreso shocked that he’d openly admit it. She wouldn’t be Toni Topaz if she didn’t offer a challenge. So she did just that. “Does Charles not have time for it or do you make him not have time for it, Mr. Clayton.”

Chuck’s smile dropped, “We don’t have time for it. Like I said.”

“I don’t think Charles is fully invested in himself making varsity football as much as you are.” Toni pointed out. 

“I don’t think a woman who doesn’t have kids should speak on how I raise mine.” Chuck bit back. Toni’s face turned with anger but kept it at bay for the sake of the last bit of professionalism she was holding onto. 

“Why are you getting defensive? I was simply making an observation.” Toni said.

“Why are you working with kids when you clearly don’t know how to function with them? They're children, unable to make decisions for themselves. That is what us parents are for.” Chuck says clearly on edge.

“Even when it compromises their academic career?” Chuck shook his head, Toni scuffed in return. “Seems as if my lunch break is over, have a good day Mr. Clayton.” She dismissed while standing from behind her desk. She made her way towards the door and opened it purposefully. 

Chuck stood and walked directly in front of Toni, staring down at her. “For what it’s worth, I’ll be more than welcome to have your babies—we’d make some cute ones.”

That’s it.

“Charles told me that his mom wasn’t around…” Toni said sizing Chuck up, “I can absolutely see why.” She finished with a wink. Chuck was visibly heated. He left her office without speaking a word. 


Toni arrived at the beach shortly after her workday ended. She brought a spare change of clothes, a pair of blue leggings with a matching sports bra, and changed out of her clothes from before in the beach house. While changing out of her clothes the encounter that she had with Chuck replayed on a constant loop in her head. He was bold and didn’t hold back on his snarky comments, Toni couldn’t get the last remark that he made towards her out of her mind no matter how much she wished she could. 

Once she was ready, she walked down the beach until she arrived at the volleyball net. There was no sign of Cheryl which concerned her slightly. Toni thought that she might’ve forgotten about meeting up today which made her nerves begin to pile. 

She unlocked her phone, searched for Cheryl’s name and called her. The phone rang four times before it connected. 

Hi Toni.” Cheryl said excitedly. Toni smiled at the sound of her voice.

“Hey Cheryl. I was wondering if you were still going to be at the beach today because I’m here.” Toni chuckled nervously, kicking the sand beneath her feet. 

Toni I’m so sorry. I forgot to text you to let you know that something came up.” Cheryl said apologetically. Toni’s shoulders slumped in defeat, cursing under her breath at how much she was looking forward to this. 

“Oh…It’s no problem really. I’ll just hang out here by myself—”

Oh my God, Toni, I’m kidding.” Cheryl laughed loudly in her ear, Toni rolled her eyes at the prank. “I’m literally walking up to you right now. Turn around.”

Toni hung up the phone and turned around to be met with a sight that took her breath away. Cheryl was also wearing blue but instead of leggings she had on spandex with a matching sports bra. Two strands of hair laid in front of her face while half of her hair was placed in a high ponytail allowing the rest to flow freely down her back. She was stunning. 

Cheryl approached Toni, trying to keep her eyes subtle knowing that they were roaming Toni’s body. “Well it seems like we both have good taste.” The redhead said. 

“Or maybe you wanted to be like me today, it’s all good.” Toni teased, Cheryl giggled and sat her stuff down onto the sand. 

“Did you have anything in mind that you wanted to work on?” Cheryl asked searching through her bag for her volleyball. Truthfully, Toni did not. She wanted an excuse to see Cheryl again before their next practice.

“How about…we practice my…spike?” Toni said coming up with any volleyball term that she could think of at the moment. She watched the back of Cheryl’s head shake and heard small laughter. 

“You have no idea on what you want to work on, do you?” Cheryl teased. 

“I—”

“Shit.” The redhead said defeatedly. “I don’t have my volleyball. My niece or nephew must’ve taken it out of my bag.”

“Damn, I guess there is no extra practice today.” Toni said sadly.

Cheryl perked up and slung her bag around her shoulders. Toni wondered what she had in mind. 

“Maybe we could just take a walk and talk. I don’t want to miss out on this lovely day. If that’s okay?” Cheryl offered, Toni now wondered if she had left her volleyball on purpose in order to get this opportunity. Toni smiled and slung her small bag around her shoulders as well. 

“Let’s do it.” She agreed watching Cheryl’s smile increase. 

The pair began walking, choosing to walk alongside the water to avoid stepping over families and sand castles. Besides the noises of kids playing and waves crashing onto the sand, they strolled in awkward silence for a moment. They both wanted to start a conversation but were too doped on each other’s presence to do so. Cheryl was the first to break the silence. 

“How was your day?” She asked softly.

Toni rolled her eyes at today’s events, “I’ve had better. I had a conversation that didn’t go too well with this guy today.” 

Cheryl frowned. “Bad date?” 

Toni laughed brightly at Cheryl’s guess. “No, not at all. I’m a counselor for a middle school and this parent, who has literally been eye-fucking me since the day I met him, kind of went off on me today when I brought up some things I’ve noticed with his son.” 

Cheryl nodded, following along with conversation. “Parents can be so blind to their children and then get mad at others who genuinely want to help.” 

“My point exactly. It’s my job to help these kids, you know? And it makes it hard when parents refuse to accept the help or are imagining me undressed when I'm trying to explain the situation…in this case, both.” Toni laughed to herself and so did Cheryl. 

“Well, you caring for that kid is enough. At least he knows he has a safe place. And as far as the parent…certainly his loss and the next man’s treasure, in any case.” Cheryl said truthfully. Toni blushed lightly. 

Toni hummed, feeling a little bold, she decided that she’d test the waters. “Or woman for that matter.” Cheryl’s attention piqued, Toni turned to her arching her eyebrow causing the redhead to blush now. 

“Or woman indeed.” Cheryl began, she tore her eyes away from Toni. “I applaud you for being patient with men because I simply cannot. Women just get me.” Cheryl said, making Toni aware of what she’s interested in. 

Oh hell yea. 

“I tend to lean towards women more often than men to be honest, they’re better.” Toni rasped, catching a view of Cheryl in her peripheral vision. 

“And that’s how we get to know each other.” Cheryl giggled nervously, Toni blushed wildly feeling as if she overshared. 

“I overshared, didn't I? You literally just asked me about my day.” Toni palmed her face with her hand out of embarrassment. She felt soft hands gently wrap around her wrist and pull at her hand. 

“Uncover your eyes, you're going to fall silly.” Cheryl said, “You didn’t overshare. I’m the one that suggested that we walk and talk, remember?” 

“I guess you’re right, so tell me. How was your day?” Toni asked mockingly. 

Cheryl continued on to tell Toni about her day. Toni found out that Cheryl worked as an art therapist. 

“Art therapy?” Toni questioned. 

Cheryl nodded proudly with a wide grin. “Yes. I basically paint with my clients to help them improve social skills, overcoming addiction, self-esteem, etc. It’s great, honestly.” 

Toni was very impressed. It seemed like a fitting job for Cheryl because of her patience and how good of an instructor she was.

“What were the circumstances of your client for today? Obviously not in detail.” Toni asked curiously. 

“This particular client suffers from extreme anxiety—he rarely leaves the house. So we drew an outline of the human body and I asked that he paint the areas of his body where he feels the most anxious, foggy, or in pain whenever he feels an attack coming on and we worked from there.” Cheryl briefly explained. Toni was truly intrigued. 

“Wow. That sounds amazing actually.” 

“My job or the painting?” Cheryl questioned.

“Both actually. Consider me intrigued.” Toni said. 

“Well if you ever need art therapy, I’m your girl.” 

They continued their walk and talked about some more typical topics. They found out each other’s favorite colors, food and birthdays. Toni even expressed to Cheryl about her past hairstyles that she’s been thinking about doing again. 

“Wait, you were a blonde?” Cheryl asked incredulously. Toni chuckled and shrugged her shoulders cockily. “Consider me intrigued by you Topaz.” She mocked. 

After a few more strides, the pair decided to take a rest and sat down onto the sand. Toni spread her legs apart and began to build small figures with the sand causing Cheryl to laugh at her childish antics. The redhead soon followed and did the same. 

“Tab told me that she saw you yesterday.” Cheryl brought up. 

Toni nodded, continuing building her figures, “Yea. Never been so happy to see someone in my life.” Toni said absentmindedly. She noticed how Cheryl looked confused at her statement and quickly realized how it could’ve been interrupted. “That sounded wrong. I meant, when we saw each other I was going to start a difficult conversation with my best friends that I didn’t want to have but Tabitha was a welcome distraction.” 

Cheryl nodded and smiled to herself. “Tabitha does have a magical sense as to when she is needed to save the day. I remember in college before I came out, this guy—Archie, as you would say, eye-fucked me the entire night and tried so hard to get me to go upstairs alone with him until Tabitha came and wrapped her arm around me and kissed me so he would leave.” 

Toni bursted into laughter, Cheryl did as well reminiscing on the memory. “Oh my God. She’s a keeper.” 

“Oh trust me, I know. So I’m glad you were able to experience how great she is.” Cheryl said through giggles. 

“I’m glad too. If only she could use her mojo at my house when I have to seem again.” Toni teased. Cheryl wanted to ask about the certain conversation but she knew that she shouldn’t. 

“That bad huh?” 

Toni contemplated, she felt a sense of comfort wash over her. Almost as if she was compelled to vent to Cheryl. No matter how beautiful Toni thought the redhead was, she was still practically a stranger. She swallowed the urge to go in depth with the conversation. 

“Have you ever… found something out and then kept it a secret because you thought it was the most terrible thing in the world? Then you realized it was mainly you complicating things and now you have to tell the people around you but you’re scared that they’ll be mad that you kept it a secret?”

“Sounds like my coming out story to my parents.” Cheryl related. “I knew that I was attracted to women in high school but I was scared that they would—I don’t know—disown me so I didn’t tell anyone. Then I went to college and met a girl that I really liked and figured that it was time to come out to everyone back home. When I did, my parents were so mad that I didn’t tell them—they were furious…” 

“Ah, so don’t tell them. Got it.” Toni said with a smirk causing Cheryl to roll her eyes. 

“No, shut up.” Cheryl giggled playfully, shoving her shoulder. “They were only mad for a split second Toni, only because they thought that I didn’t trust them. Then afterwards they supported me wholeheartedly. So if this conversation is being delayed because you think that they’ll shun you then I think you might have it all wrong.” She concluded. 

Toni sat with the words that Cheryl just spoke to her. The woman, just like her grandfather, was completely right. These were best friends—her family, the people who’ve had her back since the beginning of time, they were her support system. There is no reason why she hasn’t told them yet. 

“Cheryl, you really just opened my eyes to something, I owe you one.” Toni said genuinely. 

Cheryl raised an eyebrow, Toni did too as she wondered what the redhead might come up with. “How about dinner and drinks?”

Toni’s eyes widened. Was she asking her on a date? 

Cheryl quickly realized what she had insinuated and cleared her throat nervously. “Tabitha and I are hosting a small gathering at my home to welcome the Jewelz, on Sunday. We haven’t made it official yet but more than likely it’ll happen.” 

Whew. 

Toni released a breath and chuckled nervously. “Of course, count me in.” 

“You can bring your friends too if you want. Tabitha mentioned something about someone named…Jordan?” Cheryl recalled. Toni shook her head. Damn Sweet Pea. 

“Yea that’s one of my best friends. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to know that he’s invited.” Toni assured. Cheryl grinned in amusement. Suddenly Toni’s phone rang interrupting their conversation. After fumbling through her bag she finally found her phone and saw that it was Dr. Karina calling her. Her face drained of its energy which slightly concerned Cheryl. 

“Do you need to take that?” Cheryl asked. 

Toni shook her head and pressed decline. Her day had gotten better and she was enjoying her time with Cheryl. Dr. Karina was more than likely calling about the results of Toni’s blood test which could wait until tomorrow. For right now she wanted to live in the moment which she found herself almost constantly doing when she was around Cheryl. 

“It can wait.” Toni said, putting her phone back into her bag. “Now tell me. Are your sand castles really that bad or are you not even trying?” Toni asked, trying to shift the mood. 

Cheryl gasped and held her chest. “Toni Topaz. How dare you question my ability to create a sand castle.” 

“I’m just saying, that looks questionable right now.” Toni nodded to the blobs of sand in between Cheryl’s legs. 

“I’m a beach babe Toni, of course I can make a good castle if I actually tried.” Cheryl defended. 

“Well in that case, beach babe, let’s try.” Toni challenged with a smirk. Cheryl reached into her bag and grabbed a water bottle and began to mold her castles. Toni pouted when she realized her disadvantage. 

“Hey! Not fair.” Toni whined. Cheryl glanced at her with a soft smile and handed her the bottle. 

“If you insist. I’ll share.” Cheryl nicely said. 

Toni took the bottle and began to mold castles of her own. The women worked diligently on their own creations, both taking turns to fill the bottle with water from the shore. Conversation was mild considering how concentrated they both were but it wasn’t awkward. 

After deeming it finished, the girls stepped back and took a look at both of their castles. Toni’s castle was bigger than Cheryl’s with pretty good sculpting to be done with hand but the redhead’s castle was wider with more detail. 

“Mine is definitely better.” Toni bragged. 

“I beg to differ.” Cheryl tutted. “Let’s call a tie breaker, I'm calling Tab.” 

Toni shrugged and Cheryl rummaged through her bag for her phone. Once she found it she quickly went to the facetime app to call Tabitha. 

It didn’t take long for Tabitha to answer the phone, “Hey Cher, what’s up?” 

“Tabby would you be a doll and tell me which of these sand castles are your favorite?” 

Toni heard Tabitha laugh through the speakers on the phone, “Awn are Juni and Dag having a competition?” 

“Actually…Toni and I are.” Cheryl blushed turning the phone so that Toni could be in frame. 

“Hey Tabitha!” Toni greeted. 

Cheryl brought the phone back to her face before Tabitha had a chance to respond. “That’s not important though, just take a look.” 

She flipped the camera and stepped back so that both castles could be seen clearly. Tabitha took no longer than two seconds to determine her answer.

Definitely the taller one.” She said. Toni hopped triumphantly and Cheryl rolled her eyes. 

“You are terrible Tab.” Cheryl said. 

“I knew that we were going to be good friends.” Toni cockily said into the phone. 

Tabitha laughed at their antics, clearly enjoying the entertainment. “As much fun as it is watching you pout like a baby Cher I gotta go. Enjoy your date.” 

Cheryl’s cheeks reddened and so did Toni’s, they both said a quick goodbye to Tabitha and hung up the phone. 

“Sorry about that. She says whatever comes to mind.” Cheryl nervously apologized. Toni waved her hand. 

“It’s okay.” She chuckled. “But it seems as if I'm the real beach babe now.” Toni teased. 

“Let’s not get cocky. I’m still the beach babe. You’re more like…my beach boo.” Cheryl corrected. 

Your beach boo?” Toni questioned. 

“You know what I meant Toni.” Cheryl said feeling embarrassed. 

Toni grinned and ducked her head for a moment to escape the eye contact. “I’ll take it.” 

“You better. Now come on, let’s see if anybody accidentally left their volleyball by the nets.” Cheryl said gathering her bag. 

“Never took you for the reckless type, Head Jewel.” Toni said doing the same. 

“Well it’s a lot for you to find out about me wouldn’t you say?” Cheryl quipped then began to walk back towards the volleyball net. Toni took a moment to enjoy the view in front of her. 

“I would say.” She said mostly to herself, taking one final look before deciding to catch up to her.

 “I would definitely say.” 

Notes:

Well… some progress is better than no progress for our dear Toni. I know that choni interactions are always at the end but that’ll change soon as we progress. How are we feeling about the beach babes? And do you think Toni will actually tell her best friends the “news”? lmk in the comments. thanks for reading!

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Toni practically had to drag herself through her front door. Once she closed and locked her door, she pressed her back against the frame and took in a long breath. It was Friday night and she had just returned from a very intensive practice. 

She dropped her beach bag but kept a plastic bag in her hand. 

“Josie!” She called out from her position against the door. “Are you home?” 

Josie came jogging down the stairs and made her way towards a whining Toni. 

“Why are you screaming? Are you okay?” She asked, looking at Toni’s ragged appearance. 

“Practice kicked my ass Jos. I can’t even bend down to take off my shoes.” Toni nodded between her shoes and Josie with a pleading look in her eye. Josie knew what the woman was insinuating and bent down to assist her. 

“You’re such a needy woman.” Josie said, taking off Toni’s left shoe, giggling as she heard a dramatic sigh of relief before taking off the right shoe as well. She stood up and took another look at Toni. She noticed the plastic bag in her hand. 

“What’s that?” She asked curiously. Toni lifted her body from against the door and smiled widely. 

“Hair dye! I’m going back blonde!” Toni said excitedly. 

“Girl—Oh my God! Yes!” Josie said, matching her energy. “You’re going to look so good! I can’t wait to see blonde Toni in action again.” She smirked. 

“Yea, you and me both. I’m going to shower, can you help me with the dye after?” 

“Yea girl, of course! Go get yourself cleaned up, you look a mess, respectfully.” Josie chuckled, receiving both middle fingers from Toni. 

Toni quickly showered, washing away her practice from earlier. After she washed her hair and got into some clothes that she didn’t mind the dye getting on she called Josie into the bathroom to get started on her hair. 

Josie began sectioning Toni’s hair and applying the dye while Toni scrolled through her socials. While she scrolled she received a text in the Jewelz group chat. 

Cheryl (Head Jewel): Attention Jewelz! As a reward for your hard work at practice tonight, Tab and I would like to invite you to an official Spiking Jewelz gathering this Sunday—before our big game next week! Address will be sent shortly! 

“I have to go to a gathering on Sunday, want to tag along?” Toni asked Josie, locking her phone to avoid another situation like she had encountered with Fangs. 

“Sure…Where is this gathering?” Josie asked from behind her, taking another piece of hair to be sectioned. 

“It’s going to be at one of the coaches' houses from the volleyball team. It’s like a welcoming gathering, I was told that I could invite you, Fangs and Sweet Pea. Apparently Tabitha has been asking about him.” Toni explained. 

“I’m down.” Josie said. “How does it feel knowing that Sweet Pea took your girl though?” She teased. Toni rolled her eyes wishing that Josie could see. 

“Not my girl. Seriously.” Toni stated. 

“Mhm. So what made you want to dye your hair again?” Josie asked, she had finished sectioning and applying the dye so she sat on the edge of the tub to face Toni. 

Toni took a deep breath feeling like now is a better time than ever to tell Josie what’s been going on since it was just the two of them. 

“Honestly Jos, I haven’t been feeling like myself lately.” Toni started. “I haven’t been happy with myself for a little while now.” 

Josie’s face softened and her hand immediately reached out to grab Toni’s. Toni sucked in a breath, refusing to cry. “Hey, hey—talk to me babe, what’s going on?” 

“I just—I don’t know! I don’t know. I don’t feel like myself anymore. I look in the mirror and see absolutely nothing—no spark—no fire—just nothing.” Toni breathes. Josie’s grip on her hand tightens. 

“Toni I had no idea, how long have you been feeling like this?” 

“A few weeks maybe.” Toni answered. Josie sat up and made her way into Toni’s lap and brought her into a tight embrace. 

“Josie, wait. The dye is going to get all over you!” Toni warns but Josie could care less. 

“I don’t care if it ruins my clothes Toni. Only thing I’m worried about is you. You could’ve told me you were feeling like this, you know how much I care about you.” 

Toni let herself succumb in Josie’s embrace, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. “I know Josie and I’m sorry. I have been doing everything in the spur of the moment kind of. Like for instance, whenever I’m around—“ 

Toni stopped herself short. She didn’t want to mention how she felt around Cheryl to Josie just yet. “The volleyball team…I feel free—new even. I bought the dye because I wanted some excitement. I want to look in the mirror and be happy again.” 

“Babe, you know I’m here for you. With anything and you know this. I don’t want you to keep any more feelings or secrets from me, okay? I want to be there to help you Toni, you’re my best friend.” Josie said sincerely.

“I know Josie, I know…” Toni sighed. “There’s one more thing I should tell you.” 

“Of course. What is it?” 

“Well I went—“ Toni started but her phone rang loudly. It felt as if everytime she wanted to start this conversation there was always a distraction. She huffed and turned her phone around to see it’s a call from Fangs. She remembered telling the man that he and Sweet Pea could come over for drinks, she answered to tell them that she would have to rain check. 

“Hey Fangs—“

Antoinette Topaz!” Fangs said firmly over the phone. Both Josie and Toni looked down into the phone confused. Josie hopped off of Toni’s lap and sat back onto the tub. 

“Did I do something?” Toni asked carefully. 

I don’t know, you tell me.” 

“Okay spit it out Fangs, damn.” Toni said growing irritated. 

You joined a fucking volleyball team and told Pea before telling me?” 

Toni palmed her face, she knew it was something she forgot to do this week. “Fangs I’m so sorry, it honestly slipped my mind.” 

Sorry my ass T. When’s your next game?” 

“We haven’t had a game yet, only practice, but our first game is Tuesday.” Toni explained. “If it makes you feel any better you’re invited to go to our first gathering on Sunday—and Sweet Pea.” She tried to ease. 

The line was silent for a moment before Fangs finally spoke up, “Fine. You’re forgiven. Are we still on for tonight?” 

“Actually maybe we should rain check. I’m dying my hair—“ Toni’s eyes shot open and so did Josie’s when they realized that the dye had been resting in Toni’s hair for too long. “Shit—the dye! Gotta go Fangs, I’m probably about to go bald!” 

She hung up the phone before Fangs had a chance to respond and quickly bent herself over the sink while Josie turned on the faucet. The pair collectively rinsed the dye out of Toni’s hair and then decided to blow dry.  Once finished, Toni took a look in the mirror and gasped.

“Oh my—”

“You look damn good!” Josie added with a whistle. Toni smiled at her reflection, feeling a small sense of normality forming. She fluffed her hair one more time before pulling out her phone, she took a picture and sent it to Sweet Pea and Fangs who both responded with heart eyes.

“I look so good.” Toni said, mesmerized by herself. Josie joined behind her with a smile of her own. 

“You sure do. I’m going to shower and call it a night. Remember what I said, Toni, no more secrets.” Josie said pointedly, Toni nodded into the mirror. Josie left her alone in the bathroom to bask in her own self glory. 

Toni took one last moment to stare at herself with a wide grin. Although she didn’t get a chance to tell Josie the entire truth she felt immensely better knowing that her best friend at least knew how she’s been feeling over the past couple of weeks. She was grateful that Josie was understanding, her grandfather and Cheryl’s words seemed to be the truth. This was beginning to feel like a fresh start for the newly blonde.


“God—T! Answer your phone!” Josie whined from her lying position on the couch. It was approaching Sunday night and she was attempting to take a nap before the Jewels gathering tonight but was failing miserably due to the loud ringing of Toni’s phone on the kitchen counter. 

“Look and see who’s calling! I’m about to shower.” Toni yelled from the bathroom. Josie rolled her eyes and groaned loud enough for Toni to hear. She stretched her muscles and made her way towards the counter. 

She picked up Toni’s phone and scanned past the missed email notifications and many text messages to see two missed calls from Dr. Karina. Josie knew that Toni’s primary doctor was Dr. Frasier because she was the one who recommended that Toni go under his care. 

“Uh, Dr. Karina called?” Josie said she then heard the door to their bathroom unlock followed by Toni exiting with only a towel covering her naked body. 

“Thanks Jos.” The blonde said approaching her best friend and taking the phone from her hand. “I’ll be sure to call back.” Toni said, turning on her heels. 

“Who’s Dr. Karina?” Josie asked curiously. 

“Oh, she’s a new doctor in Frazier’s office. She probably called about refilling my migraine medication.” Toni diverted. 

“Oh okay girl, how have those been treating you?” 

“They’ve been fine. I rarely ever get them so the medicine is working.” Toni winked and quickly walked back into the bathroom, she immediately locked the door and turned on the shower faucet. 

She unlocked her phone and went to her latest voicemail. She scrolled through the pointless scam-like messages, pressed play on Dr. Karina's and brought the device up to her ear. 

Hello Ms. Topaz. This is Dr. Karina, I’ve been trying to contact you in regards to the results of your recent blood work tests.  I’d like to schedule an appointment so that we can go over some treatment plans that I think would be best. If you could call me or my assistant—Kim—to schedule an appointment that would be great.Take care.” 

Toni sighed and sat on top of the toilet seat still covered in her towel. She realized that she did purposely avoid the doctor’s call when she and Cheryl were at the beach and then missing a call again today made Toni also see that she was being unfair—especially when Dr. Karina squeezed her into her very tight schedule. The blonde scrolled down her call history until she found Kim’s number and quickly hit the dial. She assumed that since it was way past business hours that it would go straight to voicemail but she was wrong, Kim answered on the third ring. 

You’ve reached Dr. Karina’s office—this is Kim speaking.”

Hi Kim. This is Toni Topaz, I was calling because Dr. Karina wanted me to schedule another appointment to go over treatment options.” Toni said  praying that Josie couldn’t hear her. 

Ms. Topaz, fabulous! I can squeeze you in for Tuesday around 12 pm. Is that fine?”

Although Toni would rather not deal with medical problems on the day of her first game she figured it was what she had to do. She just hoped that the visit wouldn’t put a damper on her mood for the game.

“That’s perfect, I’ll be there.” Toni said finally. Kim set up the appointment and then the pair disconnected from each other’s line. Toni wanted to worry herself with the possible choices of treatment but she did not let herself succumb to overthinking. The only thing on her mind right now was making sure that she was flawless for tonight’s gathering.

After about two hours, Sweet Pea and Fangs arrived ready to party even after Toni assured the men that it wouldn’t be a wild scene like they were expecting.  The guys began to pregame by pulling out some beers from the fridge and even got Josie to do the same. Toni declined, deciding to go back to her room to get ready for the night. 

In which she did, Toni stayed locked in her room until she deemed herself perfect. It’s been a while since she and her three best friends went out and even though tonight is a gathering rather than a party she was excited to get dolled up. She sat at her vanity and applied a natural makeup look with heavy lipgloss to make her lips pop, she then parted her hair in the middle and curled each side to perfection.  

After her face and hair was made up she began to put together her outfit. Luckily tonight was one of the very cooler nights that LA had to offer. She chose to wear a pair of brown, plaid pants that fit her figure to perfection, a black crop top, her favorite boots and topped it off with a leather jacket that she hasn’t worn in years. Toni took a look at herself in her mirror, a smug grin appeared on her lips knowing that she looked good. 

After grabbing her phone, wallet and lip gloss she headed out of her room to meet her friends who have been waiting on her. Once she appeared in the kitchen where her three friends were drinking, she was attacked by whistles and catcalls. 

“Damn T! You look nice!” Fangs said.

“Girl, you’re a bad bitch!” Josie added.

“You plan on getting laid at the party or something?” Sweet Pea snickered, Toni walked over to him and punched his shoulder. 

“Thank you guys and no Pea, mind your business.” Toni said. “Are you guys still pregaming or can we head out?” She asked, trying not to sound eager. The three finished off their beers and followed Toni out of the door. 

The ride to Cheryl’s home was about 30 minutes from Toni and Josie’s house. Sweet Pea found a parking spot and they all exited the car and headed towards the house. Cheryl’s house was beautiful, it wasn’t too big nor too small and Toni could tell by her surroundings that the house had a beautiful view of the sunset. Once they approached the door Toni quickly turned around on her feet.

“Do not embarrass me.” She said firmly, mostly to Sweet Pea and Fangs.

“Dude, you play beach volleyball. Is that not embarrassing enough?” Sweet Pea retaliated but shut his mouth after receiving the look of death from Toni. Josie snickered on the side of Toni. She rang the doorbell followed by knocking on the door three times.

A moment later Tabitha swung the door open, her smile widened when she saw Toni and her friends. Music, loud conversation and laughter was heard immediately. 

“Toni! Wow—you look hot! I love the hair.” She beamed. “And Josie. Jordan...and—I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“Hi, I’m Fangs.” Fangs said, extending his hand which Tabitha grabbed in her own.

“Hi Fangs, I’m Tabitha. Come on in!” She sang letting them enter the house. 

Fangs grabbed Sweet Pea’s arm before they entered, “Dude, you told her your real name?” 

Sweet Pea wiggled his arm free and shook his head, “Shut up, she’s fine as hell.” 

The house was more crowded than expected, there were the members of the Jewelz as well as their friends and/or partners. The men quickly caught up to the girls who found themselves in the kitchen with Tabitha where the drinks were. 

“So Toni, what inspired the change?” Tabitha asked from across the kitchen counter. Toni shrugged in return.

“I wanted to spice things up, I guess.” She answered, trying her best not to sound cocky. 

“Well it suits you well. Josie, you look stunning too. I may need to take some of you guys' beauty tips.” Tabitha said.

“Oh please, you’re gorgeous!” Josie complimented.

Tabitha then suddenly jumped up, “So, what’s everyone’s drink of choice? We have it all.”

“Beer.” Sweet Pea and Fangs said in unison, Toni and Josie both rolled their eyes. 

“Anything sweet for me.” Josie chimed in. Toni gazed around the room scanning the house for a certain redhead but had no luck which she found odd considering that it was her house after all. 

“Hey Tab, where’s Cheryl?” Toni asked curiously. Tabitha gave her a knowing smirk before grabbing two beers from the freezer and handing them to Sweet Pea and Fangs and then back to the counter to mix Josie’s drink. 

“She should be down here any minute now. She said that she was fixing up her makeup.” Tabitha answered, and as if on cue, Toni saw Cheryl coming down the stairs. The redhead glanced around the area before landing her eyes towards the kitchen where they almost instantly fell on Toni. Toni’s mouth went dry at the way Cheryl scanned her body. The redhead wore simple black jeans with a white ribbed shirt and for the first time, since Toni has known her, her hair was bone straight. Toni for sure knew that she was staring but could care less, Cheryl looked fantastic. 

As she approached the countertop she offered everyone a wide smile before turning towards Toni. “Toni, you look...wow.” 

“Wow yourself.” Toni rasped, unable to come up with any other words. They stared into each other's dark eyes for a moment before Toni tore her gaze away and introduced Cheryl to her friends.

“Cheryl. These are my best friends: Josie, Fangs, and Sweet Pea—” Toni cut herself short realizing her mistake, Sweet Pea practically choked on his beer and shot Toni a glare.

“Seriously?” He asked. Tabitha looked between the two.

“Sweet Pea?” She asked, trying to cover her laughter.

“It’s just some dumb nickname.” He grumbled. His cheeks turned red and he took another sip of his beer. 

“It’s okay, it fits you, surprisingly.” Tabitha reassured him with a small smile. Cheryl swallowed her laughter.

“Nice to meet you all, I’m Cheryl.”

Fangs immediately recognized the name from Toni’s phone and recalled their conversation about the certain redhead. As soon as he connected the dots he couldn’t help himself from the realization. “Oh—Cheryl.” 

Toni shot him daggers, knowing what he was referring to. Fangs quickly fixed himself up, not wanting to deal with Toni’s rage. “I’m Fangs—I like to make a dramatic introduction from time to time, don’t mind me.” He lied. Josie and Sweet Pea gave him weird looks before turning back to Cheryl who was amused by his behavior. 

“Nice to meet you Fangs.” 

“Hey Cheryl, I’m Jor—Sweet Pea, I’m Sweet Pea.” Sweet Pea introduced himself. 

“And I’m Josie. Nice to meet you.” Josie followed suit. 

Cheryl scanned the group, she noticed that everyone had been drinking except for her and Toni. “Seems as if everyone is partaking except for us, what’s your poison Topaz?”

Toni tried her best to stay coherent but the way Cheryl looked and how good her last name sounded coming from her mouth made it extremely challenging. Cheryl’s demeanor tonight is definitely not her usual chipper self, it’s more seductive—she oozed sex appeal and Toni was loving it. 

“Toni likes dark, she hates anything light.” Sweet Pea answered, causing Toni to come out of her daze. 

“Oh?” Cheryl arched an eyebrow at Toni.

“I drink light, it just depends on the type.” Toni said smoothly, never taking her eyes off of Cheryl’s as she watched her cheeks redden. Tabitha shook her head at the pair's interactions.

Cheryl walked behind the counter to where Tabitha was observing and began to mix the drinks. Toni could’ve sworn that she heard Tabitha whisper something along the lines of “Just kiss already” but she chose to ignore it. 

Cheryl walked back over to Toni handing her a drink, Toni muttered a thank you and took a rather large sip of her drink to calm her nerves. 

“Perfect.” She rasped. 

“So, let’s get acquainted with everyone, shall we?” Cheryl said to the group. Everyone nodded and made their way into the crowd. Toni ventured off by herself and began talking to some women who she would make small talk with during practice. Fangs and Sweet Pea got into a serious conversation about cars with some of the guys and Josie found herself conversing with a girl who also shared an interest in music. 

Tabitha and Cheryl were amazing party hosts, they worked the room making sure that no one was left out of conversation and even shared some old college stories. After a while, Toni noticed Sweet Pea and Tabitha gravitate towards each other and began a conversation and watched from afar while Josie and Fangs high-five each other as if it was their doing. She excused herself from the small group that she was in to go into the kitchen to make another drink. She quickly found a bottle that she hoped to be the same bottle that Cheryl used and refilled her cup. She took a sip and her face scrunched in disgust, it was definitely not what she had just been drinking. 

“It’s the bottle to the left.” A voice said behind her with a small chuckle. Toni turned around to see an amused Cheryl. “Let me make you another one.” 

Toni handed Cheryl her cup and watched as she began to mix the correct drink. 

“You have a beautiful home Cheryl.” Toni said. 

“Thank you very much Toni.” The redhead responded, handing the glass to Toni. “It’s much tidier but like I’ve said before, my niece, nephew and their mom are currently living with me.” 

“Where are they by the way?” 

“They’re visiting my parents, so I’ve had the weekend alone.” Cheryl informed. She quickly made herself a drink. “Want to see my favorite part of the house?” 

Toni blinked, “Lead the way.”

Cheryl grabbed ahold of Toni’s hand and led them towards the staircase. Toni didn’t know what to expect or where Cheryl was leading her to, all she knew was that her heart was racing and her palms were sweating. They made it to the top of the staircase, the redhead let go of her grasp on Toni’s hand and opened the first door on her left. 

“Cheryl?” Toni was skeptical, not that she was scared but more so curious. 

“We’re almost there.” Cheryl answered. 

Toni followed Cheryl through the dark room which she supposed was a bedroom. She heard the sound of a sliding door open before she felt the cool breeze of the air. Cheryl grabbed Toni’s hand once more and led outside onto a balcony. Once Cheryl found the lightswitch, the balcony lit up. Fairy lights were strung across the metal barrier. The sky seemed so close and endless from where they were standing.

“Wow. This is amazing.” Toni breathed, walking closer to the edge of the balcony where she leaned her arms against the metal. Cheryl nodded and followed Toni, settling in close to her. 

“That’s why this is my favorite. I come out here almost every night.”

Toni stared at the stars and enjoyed the breeze on cheeks. “I guess the one thing about LA is that the nights are amazing.” Toni spoke, still entranced by the sky. 

“They are. One time, I fell asleep out here and woke up to my niece crying in my bedroom because she thought that I ran away from her and her brother.” Cheryl recalled with a chuckle. 

“She sounds like she really loves her Aunt Cheryl.” Toni giggled.

Cheryl scoffed, “As if they would call me Aunt Cheryl, they’ve come to the conclusion that my name sounds old and boring, so they refer to me as Auntie Cherry now.”

“Gotta love kids who take action into their own hands.” Toni smirked, “Thank you for bringing me up here, it’s beautiful.” Toni’s gaze never left the night’s sky while Cheryl’s gaze was boring into her side profile.

“Yea, it is.” The redhead whispered. “How are you enjoying mingling with some of the other Jewelz so far?” 

Toni turned to face Cheryl now. “Honestly? I’m having a really great time. I’m pretty sure the boys have decided to go to the next car show with some of the guys and Sonya and I are definitely going to hang out one of these days.” Cheryl playfully rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink. “Don’t worry bombshell, I’ll still make time for our beach days.”

Cheryl’s cheeks flushed red at the new nickname, so did Toni’s. “Bombshell?”

“Did I just say that out loud?” Toni asked in disbelief at herself, Cheryl laughed uncontrollably and nodded her head. “You know, like seashell but bombshell because you’re the bomb. Saying it out loud is so corny, ugh.” Toni groaned.

Bombshell. I like it.” Cheryl admitted with a soft smile, “I’ve been called Head Jewel, beach babe, and now bombshell. I need a nickname for you now, don’t you think?”

Toni smirked, “Hey! I thought I was your beach boo?”

“Anyways,” Cheryl dismissed sarcastically, “Toni Topaz...TT.”

Toni practically died in laughter at the ridiculousness, “You can’t be serious. TT?”

“What’s so bad about it? It fits you. It sounds...Petite.” Cheryl reasoned.

“You love using my height against me.” 

“It’s funny and cute.” Cheryl shrugged.

“So you think that I’m cute?” Toni challenged. 

“Gotta get a few more drinks in me before I’ll admit such a thing Toni.” Cheryl challenged back with a smirk of her own. Toni stepped a little closer to the redhead falling into the noise of her breath hitching. 

“I like it better when you call me Topaz.”

“I think that your new look has introduced me to a Toni that I’ve never seen before.” The redhead responded, daring to take a bold step closer. 

Toni bit her glossed lips and stood her ground, she felt her confidence skyrocket all of a sudden. “So now that you know my excuse for the change of mood tonight, tell me bombshell , what’s yours?” She said just above a seductive whisper. She watched as Cheryl gripped the metal barrier in her hand for stability. 

Cheryl was about to rebuttal but the sounds of the sliding glass door opening distracted her. Both girls backed away from each other and cleared their throats upon seeing Tabitha step onto the balcony. 

“There you guys are!” Tabitha was relieved. “Some of the girls found your old Wii still hooked up and wanted to know if they could play.”

Toni’s attitude transformed from sexy into pure geek upon hearing that Cheryl still had one of her favorite gaming systems. “Oh my God. You still have a Wii? Please tell me you have Just Dance.” 

Cheryl shook her head at the sudden change of aura and laughed breathily. “Yes I do, I’m kind of…nostalgic.” 

With her free hand, Toni tugged on Cheryl's arm and quickly led them downstairs into the living where everyone surrounded the giant television. Cheryl dug through her tote of games easily finding Just Dance 4. She popped it in and handed Toni a Wii remote before trying to back away.

“Uh huh, you’re dancing with me.” Toni said, raising her eyebrow at Cheryl, the entire Jewelz team began to howl and cheer for Cheryl to join Toni for a dance. 

“Fine! If I embarrass myself you all will have Toni to blame for the hell we’ll go through during our next practice.” Cheryl joked, receiving an abundance of laughs. Toni scrolled the songs before finally settling on Moves Like Jagger. She took off her leather jacket and sat it somewhere on the nearest couch. The crowd cleared space for the two women to take their stance. 

The song began and the girls hit their first move on cue with the animated man on the screen. The Jewelz whistled and cheered, amping the girls on. The song began to progress and Toni found herself truly having a good time, she felt so free. She looked over Cheryl who also was enjoying herself, laughter falling from her mouth with every move she made. Toni was having so much fun that she forgot that she was surrounded by people and got completely lost in her dancing with Cheryl. 

Josie, Sweet Pea, and Fangs watched the scene from afar in awe. They couldn’t remember the last time Toni laughed and smiled so much around another person. 

“Jos…I think we’ve had it wrong the whole time. Toni’s definitely into the redhead.” Sweet Pea said with his eyes still fixated on the dancing duo. 

Josie nods absently still watching the pair as well. “Red is definitely into her too.” 

“They’re into each other.” Fangs added. 

“Into each other and don’t even care to hide it.” A voice, Tabitha, added from the side of them. They all turned their heads to her with a grin. 

“Are they like this in practice?” Josie asked, nodding her head towards Toni and Cheryl dancing their hearts away. 

“Not totally like this but Cher just couldn’t stop talking about how great Toni is.” Tabitha vaguely explained. 

“I've heard a little of the same from Toni.” Fangs said, Josie and Sweet Pea snapped their necks wondering how he knew about Cheryl  before they did. The man shrugged his shoulders and threw his hands up in defense. 

“Hey, eavesdrop when she’s on her phone and you’ll know all the answers.” He answered. Tabitha laughed and shook her head. 

The dance had finally finished and both Cheryl and Toni were equally out of breath. After passing the remotes off to some of the other teammates, the pair walked back to their group of friends who tried to act normal upon their appearance. 

“So.” Cheryl said to the group, trying to catch her breath. 

“How’d we do?” Toni asked, doing the same. 

“Great!” The group said in unison, doing a terrible job at hiding the fact that they were just discussing the pair.


The gathering continued for a few more hours. After a while some of the teammates began to bid their goodbyes and make their exits. After making sure that Cheryl and Tabitha didn’t need any assistance cleaning up, Toni gathered her best friends and prepared to leave. Cheryl and Tabitha walked with them, Josie and Fangs headed towards the car after saying their goodbyes while Tabitha stayed with Sweet Pea in the lawn so that they could talk a little more. Toni and Cheryl stood under the threshold.

“Seems like our best friends have a thing for each other.” Cheryl said after nodding towards the pair. Toni smiled watching Sweet Pea turn into a ball of mush for Tabitha.

“Seems like it.” Toni said, turning her attention back towards the redhead. “I had fun tonight.”

“So did I. You’re a great dancer.” Cheryl pointed out. Toni waved her off and nervously kicked her boots against the concrete.

“I just had a great dance partner.” Toni shrugged.

“You flatter me.” Cheryl said, trying to keep the redness from reaching her cheeks.

“So I’ve heard.” The blonde said softly. “We should do this again. Maybe all of us can hang out one of these days—you know—since we all get along so well.”

And because I love seeing you.

“I would love that. Only if you promise that I can see those moves again.”

“Trust me, I have way more than where that came from, bombshell.” Toni rasped. 

“I’m holding you to that, TT.” Cheryl smirked. Tabitha approached the pair which let Toni know that her conversation with Sweet Pea was over. 

“I was just telling Cheryl that we all should hang out again.” Toni told Tabitha who smiled widely.

“I would love that! You have our numbers, just let us know a time and a place.” Tabitha said.

“Will do. Well, I enjoyed myself tonight. I’ll see you ladies on Tuesday for the game.” Toni said.

“Same here, bye Toni!” Tabitha said before entering the house leaving the pair alone once more. 

“Bye Toni, text me if you go to the beach before Tuesday and want some company.” Cheryl said shyly. 

“I will. Goodnight Cheryl.” Toni felt as if she was floating on cloud nine. Cheryl nodded and went into her house, softly closing her front door. Toni let out a breath knowing that she was about to be faced with the third degree burn from her friends. When she turned around she saw Sweet Pea holding back a giggle, she walked towards him and rolled her eyes.

“Dude, if you would’ve told me that you were crushing on a hot redhead I wouldn’t have given you shit about joining a volleyball team.” The taller man said through his giggles. 

“Shut up, you still would’ve given me a hard time…She is hot though, right?” Toni asked with a smirk, knowing the answer to her question already.

“Woohoo! Tiny T back into her hot women bag!” Sweet exclaimed as the pair walked towards his car. Toni swatted him away.

“How bad do you think it’ll be on the ride back?” Toni asked curiously. 

“Oh, they’re definitely going to be on your ass. So be prepared.” Sweet Pea laughed. 

Toni groaned before taking one last glance back at Cheryl's house, unbeknownst to the fact that the redhead was suffering the same taunting that she was about to endure. 

Notes:

Toni’s making baby steps. How are we feeling? Lmk in the comments, also, i changed my @ on twitter to @topaztrophe now lol. As always, thanks for reading!

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Notes:

Just a little heads up, this chapter turned out to be longer than expected.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

True to Sweat Pea’s word, Toni spent the entire car ride home wishing that she would’ve left her best friends at home. They all took turns teasing the blonde, enjoying the sight of their best friend sitting in her own embarrassment. She told her friends that there was nothing going on between her and Cheryl and that they were simply enjoying each other’s company but, as she suspected, they didn’t believe her. 

Toni thought about her growing feelings towards the redhead herself. They’ve only known each other for a short amount of time but Toni couldn’t deny her attraction and it was obvious that the feeling was mutual. She didn’t understand how she could feel shy within Cheryl’s presence but then again feel at her most confident self. Toni also didn’t want her current state of vulnerability to be the reason why she has these feelings in the first place. If there was anything to be explored between the pair Toni wanted it to be based on genuine feelings and not because the redhead was a distraction from the problems that Toni has been hiding from. 

The thought of having to bare her problems onto Cheryl also weighed heavy on her mind. If she and the redhead did decide to explore these growing feelings Toni didn’t want to burden her with her current situation. 

Toni spent the majority of her Sunday night with these thoughts in mind and the entire car ride on her way to work. She eventually pushed those thoughts to the back of her head so that she could have a productive workday. Which she did, she didn’t have to meet with as many kids as she would normally do and that meant that the children she had been meeting with were improving. She stayed in her office for most of her morning doing desk work. When her eyes began to strain from staring at her computer screen for too long she decided that she would take a break and start her daily check-ins with some teachers about her students. That was until she heard a soft knock on her office door. 

“Come in.” Toni called out. The door opened slowly, Toni was surprised to see that it was Charles who knocked. The boy smiled softly and entered the office. He stood awkwardly for a moment, Toni motioned for the boy to sit down and he did as instructed.

“What’s going on Charles?” Toni worried.

“I wanted to apologize.” He spoke. 

“Okay, I’m listening…” Toni dragged. “What are you apologizing for?”

“For my grades…” Charles began, “And for my dad.”

Toni immediately shook her head before she stood from behind her desk and went to sit in the leather chair next to Charles. 

“Charles, you’re just a kid. Your dad is an adult. You do not need to apologize to me for his actions.” Toni stated firmly but her voice was still soft.

“I know but that was wrong of him and I don’t want you to stop seeing me because you’re mad at him.” Charles explained. He sounded worried, as if Toni would shun him because of the incident that she encountered with Chuck. 

“Charles, I would never let the actions of your dad reflect the way that I treat you. You are your own person, okay?” Toni said. Charles nodded his head and slumped further into the leather seat, clearly there was more on his mind. 

“Is there anything else you want to get off of your chest?” Toni asked.

Charles sighed and fixed his posture to sit upright, “I brought my grades up. I do my homework at lunch and in between training, I don’t fall asleep anymore in class, but…”

“But what, Charles?”

“My dad doesn’t like that I’m not showing as much interest in football anymore. Ms. Topaz, I don’t want to play! Can you please talk to him?” Charles pleaded, Toni felt the strings on her heart pull while she watched tears form in the boy's eyes. 

“Hey, it’s okay Charles.” Toni tried to soothe, “Is everything okay at home? How upset does your dad get?”

“He yells sometimes and—and sometimes he says that I need to do well in football because school isn’t my thing but I think that I do well in school.” Charles said in between sobs. “Can—can I hug you?”

Toni blinked in shock, then she remembered that Charles’ mother was no longer around so the young boy was more than likely not exposed to the proper affection that he needed. 

“Uh, sure. Come here.” Toni gave in and the pair both stood from their seats. Toni’s height showed when Charles stood and was just an inch or so taller than her, that didn’t stop him from crumbling in her embrace. 

“It’s going to be okay Charles.” Toni said while still holding the boy in place. “I’ll talk to your dad and we’ll work something out.”

“I just don’t want him to be disappointed in me—or mean to you again.” Charles mumbled onto Toni's shoulders, his sobs slowed down after a moment.

“You don’t have to worry about me Charles, I can handle my own. I appreciate your concern though.” She said. Charles shook his head and broke away from the hug. He wiped his face and sniffled a few times trying to gain his composure. “And for what your dad said, he’s wrong Charles. You are excellent in school—in every subject when you focus and put your mind to it.” 

The bell rang indicating that the next period will start shortly. Toni sighed and so did Charles. The boy grabbed his bag and slung it around his arms with a huff. 

“Thank you, Ms. Topaz, for everything.” He said genuinely. 

“Of course, Charles. If you need to talk about anything my door is always open to you. I’ll schedule a call with your dad this week to talk about what we discussed.” Toni said. Charles nodded and left her office. It was vulnerable moments like this one that she had with her students that made her excited for when she has a child of her own, to console her child and assure that everything would be alright with her help and guidance. 

After her conversation with Charles, Toni made a note on her calendar to call Chuck before the week is over with. The rest of the day went by smoothly which Toni was grateful for. When the school day ended she packed her things and left to go home and relax. Toni thought about texting Cheryl and asking if she wanted to go to the beach together but she refrained from doing so.

When Toni arrived home, the smell of a home cooked meal invaded her nostrils before she even opened her front door. The blonde was excited because she knew whenever she could smell food before entering her home it meant that Josie was home and in the mood to cook. She quickly fumbled with her keys to open the door and when she did she sighed with relief. 

“Josie, whatever you’re making smells amazing!” Toni called out while she loosened her shoes. 

“Glad to know that my bonus granddaughter can cook more like me than my own flesh and blood can.” Said a deep raspy voice that Toni recognized as her grandfather’s. Toni’s head shot up and she spun on her heels.

“Grandpa!” Toni yelled excitedly, and then she thought about why the man was at her house on a Monday afternoon. “What are you doing here?”

The older man frowned, “I’ve missed you too Nettie.”

Toni laughed and went over to hug and greet her grandfather properly, feeling bad that she didn’t do so before questioning him.

“Hi grandpa. I’ve missed your hugs so much.” Toni said softly while in his embrace. Her grandfather hugged her tighter.

“I missed them too.” He said before letting go. “And to answer your question, I’ve come to watch your volleyball game tomorrow.”

Toni’s eyes widened, “How did you—“

“Come on, you know that Josie is basically my newspaper at this point.” Thomas chuckled. “Why didn’t you tell your old man?”

“I didn’t mention it because it feels kind of childish. I’m a grown woman on a volleyball team.” Toni explained.

“Oh please, you’re never too old to take up a new hobby dear.” Her grandfather said. “Your hair is different, you look just like your nana. It’s beautiful.” 

Toni blushed at his kind words. “Thank you grandpa. I’ll have to send her a picture. Has she been around lately?” Toni wondered. Her grandparents had been separated for many years but they always stayed in contact with one another. 

“She comes and goes but never stays, you know this.” He walked back into the kitchen and Toni followed behind him. She hopped on the countertop and sat there while he checked whatever food he was cooking on the stove. It reminded Toni of when she was younger and used to keep her grandfather company while he cooked dinner. 

“What are you making?” Toni asked while swinging her feet back and forth.

“Your favorite.” The older man responded.

“Everything is my favorite.” Toni said. Thomas found humor and truth in that statement. He rummaged through the cabinets for plates so that he could prepare their meal. After everything was plated, he spun around with a goofy grin plastered on his face.

“Chicken Parmesan, for my lovely granddaughter.” He said triumphantly.

“You’re the best grandpa.” Toni jumped off of the counter and took a seat on one of the barstools next to her grandfather. She hummed at the taste of the food, grateful that the older man could do wonders in the kitchen. 

“Your old man still has it, huh?” Thomas asked in between taking bites of his own food.  

“Definitely. This is amazing, you have to teach me how to cook like this.” 

“You’ve been saying that since you were sixteen, Nettie. I don't think you’re serious.” He laughed, Toni playfully rolled her eyes at the statement. It wasn’t false, Toni had been spoiled by her grandfather's cooking growing up that she never had to cook for herself, and then Josie came along and she was just as good of a cook, so once again, she didn’t need to worry. 

“You look different, besides the hair.” He said.

“How different?” Toni wondered.

“I don’t know, you’re just glowing in a sense.” He pointed out. “Oh, and I was thinking, maybe you and I can go out for breakfast tomorrow morning before your big game.” Thomas said. Toni was about to agree with the man before she remembered her appointment with Dr. Karina tomorrow.

“I would love to go grandpa but I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and I don’t want to rush our time together.” Toni said. 

“Oh. Is everything okay?” He asked with concern. 

“Uh..”

Fuck it.

“No grandpa, actually—“ Toni began, she was cut short by the sound of her front door opening and closing followed by eager footsteps towards the kitchen in which then entered a very ecstatic Josie.

“Thomas!” Josie screamed. “I’m so glad that you made it safe.” 

“There she is!” The older man greeted with a cough.

“Oh, it smells amazing in here.” Josie inhaled the smell that lingered in the kitchen. “Hey T, enjoy your surprise?”

“Yes, I was very surprised. I’m glad he’s here, I’ve missed the old man.” Toni said while playfully nudging his shoulder. 

“Sit down Josie, let me make you a plate.” Thomas said standing from his chair, “I’m sure you’ve had a long day like Toni here.”

“I would love that, thanks Thomas. I’m just going to wash my hands and put up my shoes.” Josie said scurrying upstairs to her room. 

Toni was upset. Before, she would be grateful for the constant interruptions because it gave her an opportunity to avoid the truth that she’s been ignoring. But now, Toni wanted nothing more but to finally release her burden which she found to be difficult these days. Thomas seemed to have picked up on Toni’s mood and chuckled softly to himself before he returned with Josie’s plate in hand.

“Don’t think I forgot, we’ll finish our conversation once dinner is over.” He said, Toni nodded her head. Josie returned into the room and immediately dove into her food. They talked about their days. Thomas went on a rant about hating the warm weather that came with being in LA and made it very clear that he would never move to the west coast no matter how hard Toni and Josie begged. Josie fell into complaining about the gig that she attended, her sound crashed twice because the crew didn’t properly check the sound before the show started but, in her words, she still rocked it. After everyone was finished eating, Toni washed and dried the dishes while Josie and Thomas made up the couch for the older man to sleep on tonight. Toni insisted that her grandfather sleep in her bed while she took the couch but the older man declined. 

After slugging to her room and changing into her pajamas, Toni flopped onto her bed with a huff. She rolled over and took her phone off of the charger, she opened her message app and scrolled until she saw Cheryl’s name. She didn’t know what compelled her to the redheads name, her fingers circled the keyboard before finally sending a text. 

Toni: Hey.

Toni locked her phone with a groan at how lame she felt. Her phone rang with a notification in a matter of seconds. She hurried and picked the phone up to view Cheryl’s response. 

Bombshell: Hi Toni. 

Toni blushed, basically hearing the redhead say her name with enthusiasm.

Toni: Is it too late? I’m sorry, I was just sitting here. You’re probably tired. 

Bombshell: Lol it’s fine, I’m wide awake for some odd reason.

Toni: Cool. And same, my grandpa came to visit me to see our game on Tuesday… but I’m pretty sure he’s going to talk to me about that situation I told you about the other day, so I’m very anxious lol. 

Bombshell: Oh boy, well hopefully it won’t be too bad.

Bombshell: I can distract you in the meantime :)

Toni: Humor me.

Bombshell: Today at work, I had a little girl as a patient who deals with depression, so I asked her to paint whatever comes to mind whenever I mention the word depression and she painted her DOG. 

Toni: LMAO. No way!

Bombshell: Yes! She claims that her parents pay more attention to her dog than her. 

Toni: Do you have to report back to her parents after the session?

Bombshell: Since she’s underage, yes. But we do have our little secrets that we keep between us. 

Toni: I’m so intrigued by your job. I’ll have to paint with you one of these days.

Bombshell: It’s a date. 

Toni’s cheeks turned pink at the message, just as she was about to respond she heard two soft knocks on her door. 

“Come in.” She called out. Her grandfather entered her room, and she quickly put her phone to the side. He closed her door and smiled softly as he approached the edge of Toni’s bed to sit. He stared at her for a moment before he spoke.

“You know, when you were younger, your nana and I argued quite a bit about you.” He stated. Toni furrowed her eyebrows not knowing what her grandfather was going on about.

“Why?” She asked curiously.

“You would get in these moods and it would be so obvious that you were dealing with something but you always wanted to handle it on your own without our help. Your nana used to want to force the truth out of you, whereas me wanted to wait until you felt comfortable confiding in us.” He explained. “She didn’t like that idea because sometimes you didn’t confide in us, she said it made her feel as if you didn’t trust us. I never understood how she felt until now.” 

Toni’s face softened as the realization of this conversation began to set. “Grandpa, I trust you. You know this.”

“Then tell me the whole truth please, Nettie.” He asked kindly.

The blonde took in a deep breath before she fixed her posture, “Remember when we were on the phone and I told you how I haven’t felt like myself in a long time?”

Thomas nodded. “Right, that’s the truth but not all of it. I have been feeling out of it lately which is why I randomly joined a volleyball team and dyed my hair again. But I found out something else and it really has taken a toll on me. At first I wanted to keep it a secret and handle it on my own, because I thought that it was the end of the world but after talking to you and… someone else, I realized that I’ve had it all wrong.” 

“Nettie, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me.” Thomas chuckled nervously.

“I went to the doctor and I found out that I have a low egg count. So my options are to either have kids right now or attempt to freeze my eggs before whatever’s left goes away.” Toni let out in one breath, feeling her shoulders slump beneath her. 

“Is that all?” Thomas asked not even phased by the information that Toni just told him. She blinked quickly, confused by his reaction. 

“What do you mean ‘is that all?’” Toni asked, almost sarcastic. “I just told you that I can’t have kids.” 

“No. You told me that it may be harder for you to have kids, not impossible.” Thomas corrected her.

“That’s basically the same thing.” Toni grumbled.

 “No, it isn’t. Is that why you’ve been in a funk? Because you’ve told yourself that you’re doomed to infertility?” 

“I mean…kinda.” Toni sighed. “But then I realized that I was worrying about an issue that I haven’t faced yet.” 

“Your Nana and I struggled to have children for years, until we finally had your father.” Thomas informed the woman, Toni wasn’t moved however, her dad was practically absent her entire life.

“Great. So you’re telling me that when and if I do have a kid, they’re going to grow up to be a no show.” The blonde said sarcastically but after receiving a certain look from her grandfather Toni decided it was best to keep her comments to herself.

“Antoinette, this is something you could have told me sweetheart. Did you think that I would be mad or think of you differently?” Toni didn't respond right away, “You’re my granddaughter, Toni. I’ll love you regardless if you’re able to give me more grandkids or not. I understand that wanting kids is something that you’ve desired for a while, but it’s still possible. It’s not the end of your world. Come here.” He said opening his arms, Toni fell into the older man's embrace. 

“I’m sorry if I came off as insensitive at first, this is a big thing to tackle, especially if you were trying to handle it on your own. You just really scared me, I thought that you were about to tell me that you have three weeks to live or something.” He chuckled and felt Toni’s laughter on his chest. “I love you Nettie. I’m here for you every step of the way, keep your spirits high, you’re never alone. What’s meant to be will be. You just have to give it some time, okay?” 

“Okay grandpa.” Toni mumbled into his chest. “I love you too.” 

The blonde took a moment to gather herself before she finally broke free from her grandfather’s hold, “Can we keep this between us? I haven’t told Josie yet, but I will soon, I promise.”

“Of course, our secret.” Thomas said softly, extending his pinky finger out to Toni. She wrapped her finger around his while they both kissed the knuckle of their thumb sealing the promise. 

“Would you like to come with me to my appointment? And then we can grab a quick lunch before the game.” 

“I would love to.” He said before he stood and made his way towards the door. He stopped himself short and turned around with one more thought, “I figured it out, by the way—what’s different about you.”

“And what’s that?”

“Whoever was making you blush over the phone before I came in.” He chuckled, quickly leaving before Toni could even defend herself. Toni couldn’t deny the goofy grin she had plastered on her face reading Cheryl’s last message to her, which is why she grabbed her phone to respond in hopes that the redhead was still awake.

Bombshell: Or not…

Toni: Sorry, was receiving the well anticipated talk. It wasn’t that bad.

Bombshell: That’s good! What did you gain from it?

Toni: That you were right. He was only upset because he thought that I didn’t trust him. I feel much better now, though. 

Bombshell: That’s great!

Toni: And about the painting, of course it’s a date :) What are beach boos for?

Bombshell: Omg, you’re going to tease me for that for eternity aren’t you?

Toni: Maybe… 

Bombshell: Whatever, it’s getting pretty late, and we have an important day tomorrow so I think I’m going to head to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow :)

Toni: Goodnight Cheryl. Sleep well.

Toni locked her phone and connected it to its charger with a happy sigh. But this time, the happiness wasn’t caused by the redhead. Of course, she enjoyed every interaction that she had with Cheryl but what she felt right now was different. She felt lighter knowing that slowly but surely she is relieving this burden from off of her shoulders. Tomorrow would be a good day, she had already claimed it.


The next morning was filled with nothing but nerves. Toni woke up early so that she could fully wrap her head around today’s events. She was no longer as nervous for her appointment with Dr. Karina because she found comfort in having her grandfather by her side even if all he did was sit in the waiting area waiting for her visit to be over. Besides that, most of her nerves stemmed from not wanting to embarrass herself at today’s game. She knew that her best friends would be in attendance and didn’t need them to have yet another thing to tease her about. 

After the blonde was showered and dressed, she decided to pack her bag for the game so that she could bring it along with her. Toni planned on spending the day with her grandfather before heading to the beach. She then went to see if Thomas was ready to start their day together. The old man stood by the countertop draining a cup of coffee. 

“Ready to get this day started?” He asked putting away his dish.

“Yes I am, shall we?” Toni grabbed her keys and headed towards the front door. She yelled out to Josie letting her best friend know that she and Thomas would be gone, Josie replied with telling Toni how excited she is for today’s game and that she would see her later. 

The drive to the doctors office was peaceful, Toni introduced Bluetooth radio and YouTube to her grandfather and allowed him to play the music that he enjoyed listening to which was basically all classical. Toni didn’t mind his choice of music, she enjoyed spending this quality time with her old man because she hasn’t done so in years. 

When they arrived, they entered the building and Toni directed her grandfather to the seating area then she headed towards Kim’s desk. The woman’s eyes widened as well as her smile when she noticed Toni approaching her. 

“Toni! Wow, you look great!”

Toni could never get enough of the compliments and reactions to her new hair color, call her vain but she lived for it. “Thanks Kim. I wanted to switch things up I guess”

“Well it looks amazing. Dr. Karina is ready for you in the back. Do you remember her room?” Kim asked, Toni nodded and headed towards the hallways. While she walked, she wondered when it became standard for doctor’s offices to plaster posters all over their facilities. God she hated these places.

When she approached Dr. Karina’s room, she knocked softly before gently opening the door. Dr. Karina sat in her swivel chair and happily motioned for Toni to enter. The blonde entered and took her seat on top of the examination table. 

“Looks like someone has a new look.” Dr. Karina said with a smirk, “Hi Toni, How are you?”

“I’m fine, hello and thank you.” Toni greeted back.

“You’re a very tough person to get in contact with Ms. Topaz.” 

Toni felt a little bit of guilt, she knew that she shouldn’t have avoided the woman like she had done. “I’m so sorry about that, especially with you fitting me into your busy schedule.”

Dr. Karina waved her off and pulled her chair closer to where Toni was sitting, “That’s alright Toni, I was only teasing. How have you been feeling as of late?”

“I’ve been good. I’m slowly coming to better terms about the situation.” Toni answered honestly.

“That’s good, I’m glad to hear this. Would you like to know my findings from your tests?”

Toni’s palms began to sweat but nevertheless she was ready to rip the bandaid off, “Yes.”

“Our tests did confirm that your egg count is indeed low considering your age.” Dr. Karina said as she watched the life drain from Toni’s body. In her head, Toni had hoped for this to be one big misunderstanding and that she would leave this office never having to worry about the difficulties of having kids. So hearing Dr. Karina’s words dampened her mood more than she expected.

“However, we can work with this. I’ve told you that I have helped plenty of mothers successfully get pregnant and give birth to healthy babies so you are no different than them, okay?”

Toni nodded along, “How do I even go about this? Not to get too personal but, I’m single and I’m 25 years old. It’s not like I can just pop a baby out right now.” 

“That is what we’re going to talk about. I want to start you on some supplements. They’re hormone inducers of the hormones that your body already has. When you take them, which is daily, it basically sends a signal to your body to make more of your hormones which ultimately would lead to the stabilization of your eggs.” Toni grasped every single word that was said to her.

“And then what?” The blonde asked.

“You're going to take these stabilizers for a couple of weeks under my supervision. With monitoring we will see if the current egg count would be able to sustain over time or if we would have to preserve them until you are ready to conceive a child.” The doctor explained thoroughly, not wanting to leave any room for question. 

“Okay. I’m ready.” Toni said after blowing out a breath. Like her grandfather had said to her, she had given up before giving herself a chance to fight and that was unfair to herself. If she had to take pills for a couple of weeks to increase her chances then so be it. After receiving the prescription and getting a few more her questions answered Toni thanked Dr. Karina for her time and left the office into the waiting room. Her grandfather was occupied flipping through the magazines that were on display. Toni gave a quick goodbye to Kim before walking over to the older man. Once he saw Toni approach him, he stood. He asked about her appointment in which Toni responded by telling him they would discuss it over their food.

They drove around downtown LA trying to find a restaurant that suited both of their tastes but had little to no luck before they finally decided to settle on something. As they sat down, Toni relayed all of the information that she gained from her visit to her grandfather. He listened and once again gave her his support and comfort. When their food was brought out they switched over to much lighter conversation. Thomas told Toni how he’d changed his mind and would consider moving to LA to be closer to her and the blonde couldn’t contain her smile. Even though she felt as if the older man thinks that he needed to keep an eye out on her. 

After their brunch, the pair drove around the city of LA. Toni began to enjoy the classical music that Thomas played, she for sure was going to add some of these songs to her playlist but she would never dare to admit it. They drove around for a little while longer before deciding to get some ice cream, after their stop it was time to start their journey towards the beach so that Toni could have enough time to prepare herself.

When they arrived at the beach, Toni called to see when her best friends would arrive but to her surprise they were already there enjoying themselves in the sun. Thomas and Toni located the three who stood in a pact amongst the few others who began to form a crowd in anticipation of today’s game. 

“Toni! Are you excited?” Fangs asked, placing his sunglasses on his forehead when he saw Toni and Thomas approaching them.

“If by excited you mean nervous then hell yea.” Toni responded. Josie laughed at the antics and brought her in for a tight hug. 

“It’s okay, you’re going to do great. And we’ll be the loudest ones in the crowd!” The darker skinned girl said before releasing her hug. Toni felt a sense of comfort wash over her. 

“And if you fuck up, I’ll be here to laugh.” Sweet Pea teased. Before Toni could respond, Thomas smacked his shoulder with the back of his hand lightly. 

“Language Jordan.” The older man said, Sweet Pea turned so that the man couldn’t see him roll his eyes. Toni enjoyed watching her grandfather put Sweet Pea in his place, even if it was playful banter, because her nerves right now wouldn’t allow herself to do so. 

Toni looked at the area behind the volleyball nets and noticed some of her teammates preparing for the game and decided that she should do the same. “Alright guys, I’m going to go over there with my team.”

They all wished Toni a good luck before she headed towards the rest of the Jewelz. She found a spot on the sand that was fairly secluded from everyone else. Toni sat in the sand putting on her knee pads with nerves settling in her entire body. It was a bigger audience coming in than she expected and she didn’t want to make a fool out of herself, especially with her grandfather and best friends in the crowd. 

“Hi Toni.” Cheryl greeted, taking Toni out of her thoughts.

“Hi.” Toni said softly. Cheryl sat next to her in the sand and began to prepare herself for the game as well.

“Are you okay?” The redhead asked worriedly while she applied knee pads of her own. Toni shook her head and blew out a breath, leaning back on her arms.

“I’m nervous as hell. I’ve never done anything like this before.” Toni admitted, she watched Cheryl’s lips twitch into a small smile. 

“Pre-game jitters, basically the same as cold feet before marriage.” 

“Oh, so there’s still time to leave and never look back?” Toni teased receiving a giggle from the latter. 

“No, meaning you suck it up and do it.” Cheryl said as she tapped Toni’s shoulder with her sunscreen bottle. “You’ll be fine Toni, you’re practically a natural.” 

“Thank you, and you’ll be out there with me so I’ll be fine.” Toni noticed Cheryl’s features soften almost apologetically. “Cheryl?”

“Tabitha grabbed you to be apart of her team on the first day of practice so I won’t be out there with you, I’ll be on the sidelines for the first two sets until it’s time for my team to rotate in.” Cheryl explained as she watched the life drain from Toni’s body. “I can always throw out tips from the sidelines, it’s going to be okay. I promise.” 

“That’s not the same.” Toni practically whined. 

“Toni.” Cheryl said but her voice was more firm than usual. “It’s just like practice. Literally, every single move. I promise you, you’ll be amazing.” 

“Sweet Pea will humiliate me for the rest of my life if I’m not good.” Toni chuckled, nodding her head towards where the man and the rest of her support was standing. Cheryl followed Toni’s vision into the crowd and saw the group, Josie noticed her and smiled brightly and Cheryl waved with excitement.

“Is that your grandpa?” Cheryl asked curiously.

“Yup. That’s my old man.”’ Toni responded with a small smile.

“He’s adorable.” 

“Hey! Only one Topaz in this family can be adorable.” Toni teased.

“Luckily it’s your grandpa.” The redhead teased back. Toni didn’t respond, she shook her head at their bantering. 

“Are your niece and nephew here?” Toni asked. 

“Yes they are. The only two red headed kids in the crowd.” Cheryl said pointing to the crowd where two small children were waving ribbon streamers crazily. They looked almost identical to Cheryl as if they were her own. 

“Wow, they look just like you Cheryl.” Toni said in awe. 

A warm smile appeared on her face, “Their dad, my brother, is my twin so if they didn’t look like me then I would be worried.”

“Twin? You're a very intriguing person bombshell.” 

“I like that you’re intrigued by me TT.” 

“Toni!” Tabitha yelled. “Are you ready?” 

The blonde nervously looked over to Cheryl who gave her a reassuring nod. “I guess it’s time.” She said as she stood and jogged over to Tabitha and the rest of her team. 

“You’re going to kick the game off, okay?” Tabitha instructed not missing the way that Toni’s eyes widened. “Toni—“

“Tab, no way! I am not that advanced.” Toni panicked.

“Toni, you have a bomb ass serve. I’m pretty sure you’ve heard all of this from Cher.” The woman said with a smirk. “Now come on.” She dragged Toni along with the rest of the team and formed a huddle.

“Alright Jewelz! I know that a couple of you are nervous and that’s okay. It’s our first game, Cheryl and I don’t expect you guys to go out there and perform like all-stars.” Tabitha chuckled, “Let’s go out there, kick some ass and have fun! Jewelz on three. 1…2…3…”

“Jewelz!” The group said in unison before breaking off and aligning to their proper positioning on the sand behind the net.

Toni heard whistles and from Sweet Pea and Fangs which made her even more nervous. After taking one last look at Tabitha and then a quick glance at Cheryl, Toni took in a deep breath and deemed herself ready to play. The other team took their places in line, a few of the women looked as if they played the sport their entire life.

The referee handed Toni the volleyball for her to start the game and returned to the sidelines. After he blew the whistle to initiate the game Toni remembered how Cheryl taught her to properly serve the ball and took one last breath before starting the game. The serve was strong, and to Toni’s surprise, strong enough to where the opposing team wasn’t able to retaliate. The referee blew his whistle once more.

“Jewelz point and ball!” He yelled. The entire Jewelz team and some of the supporters from the audience cheered and howled. Toni felt her confidence boost when she saw that Cheryl was a part of that noise. The referee threw the ball back to Toni indicating it was time for her to serve again. She took the same stance as before, took in a deep breath and served the ball. This time the opposing team was able to counter and the game was now in full swing. Toni got the hang of the game quickly, she realized that Tabitha was right because this felt just as if they were in practice. 

Besides the fatigue, the blonde was surprisingly enjoying herself. She heard her best friends cheer her on with every ball possession and that made her want to play at her best. Before she knew it, it was now time for the third set to start and the Jewelz had a one set lead on the opposing team. When Toni and the rest of Tabitha’s team walked onto the sidelines, they huddled with Cheryl’s team as they were about to finish out the game. 

“Great job ladies!” Cheryl spoke, “It seems like Tabitha made the rest of the game easy for us, all we need to do is win this set and we’ve won our first game of the season!”

The girls cheered and amped on the redhead’s speech, “Seriously ladies, I liked what I’ve seen out there from all of you. Let’s bring this game home! Jewelz on three. 1…2…3…”

“Jewelz!” The team said in unison. Cheryl’s team walked onto their side of the net while the rest of the ladies took their seats on the sidelines. Toni grabbed a bottle of water from the styrofoam cooler and downed it immediately, she then walked over to Tabitha who stared at the starting game attentively. 

“So, how’d I do?” Toni asked, finally feeling her breath even out throughout her body. Tabitha chuckled with her eyes still on the game.

“You got us 5 points in the first game, Toni you were great.” Tabitha said. Toni felt pride swell in her body. She watched the rest of her team carry out the rest of the game. She would be lying if she said that her eyes weren’t fixated on Cheryl the entire time. The redhead was in her element, Toni had never seen her so focused. Her hair was falling loose out of its ponytail and her abs bounced up and down as she panted trying to align her breathing. She was breathtaking. 

Tabitha noticed Toni watching her best friend's every move and decided too chime in. “She’s good, isn’t she?”

“She is. She’s really putting her all out there, I can only imagine how she plays during finals or something.” Toni said with her eyes still fixated on the redhead, she had just set the ball to Sonya who then gained the Jewelz a point by spiking it into the sand on the opposite side of the net. They were one point away from winning the game. 

“Oh she’s a beast, totally.” Tabitha confirmed Toni’s statement. The pair watched the ball fly back and forth over the nets, wondering when the game would end so that they could claim their victory. Cheryl was on fire, never once did she let up the pressure that she was applying towards the opposite team. Sonya ran from the middle back of the rotation and set the ball perfectly in Cheryl’s direction. The redhead took a leap and with a loud grunt spiked the ball down once more on the other team’s side gaining their final point for victory. 

The crowd went crazy and the entire team jumped for joy. Tabitha and Toni turned excitedly towards one another and hugged each other while they jumped up and down. They broke away from the hug and ran towards the rest of the team so that they could partake in celebrating their first victory. Cheryl was trying to catch her breath but failing miserably because of the many people that came to hug her. Toni rushed over to her side and put a soothing hand on her back. 

“That was badass!” She complimented. “You were great.”

Cheryl slouched her body and rested her head on Toni’s shoulder to catch a quick breath. The blonde prayed that she didn’t hear her breath hitch at the sudden contact. “Oh TT, you’re too kind. You were badass too. I knew you would be.”

To Toni’s disappointment, Cheryl lifted her head and her breathing was evened out. The rest of the Jewelz were talking amongst themselves, even making plans to celebrate their win tonight. Toni looked up and saw her friends and grandfather rushing towards her and a wide smile appeared on her face.

“My best friend kicked ass!” Fangs exclaimed.

“Uh, Thomas?” Sweet Pea asked, wondering when the man was going to correct Fangs like he had done to him but instead he waved him off and brought Toni into a tight embrace. 

“Hush now. Congratulations Nettie, you did amazing.”

“Yea T, I didn’t know you had game like that.” Josie said from the side of her. 

“Auntie Cherry!” Two childlike voices screamed, bombarding their way towards Cheryl, who Toni forgot was standing near them.

“Hi my babies. Did you enjoy the game?” Cheryl said, kneeling down to the small children. 

“Yes! Especially when you hit the ball so hard and made that loud noise!” The small boy exclaimed, causing Cheryl to laugh. Tabitha approached the children from behind tickling them until she deemed they had enough. Their squeals could fill the entire beach. 

“Hi there little munchkins.” Tabitha said.

“Hi Tabby!” The twins said in unison.

“Your mommy asked for you guys, your dad is on the phone.”

“Daddy! See you later auntie Cherry—love you” The girl said before dragging her brother by the hand over to a blonde woman, who Toni assumed was their mother. 

“He wasn’t kidding Cheryl, you were a beast out there.” Josie said to the redhead who smiled softly at her. “So were you Tab—hell—all of you were!”

“I was screaming like crazy for you guys.” Sweet pea admitted.

“Thank you for the support, it means a lot.” Cheryl said and Tabitha agreed with her.

“We should all go out tonight, to celebrate the win.” Fangs suggested. 

Toni wanted to agree but she looked over at her grandfather and figured that it wouldn’t be best to leave him alone during his last night in the city. “I would love to but I don’t want to leave grandpa all alone—“

“Who said I was going to be alone? I’m coming with you guys.” Thomas said, arching his eyebrow. Toni blinked in shock.

“Great! Cheryl? Tabitha?” Fangs asked with the biggest pout. 

Both women glanced at each other before nodding their heads excitedly. Fangs cheered. Sweet Pea and Toni tried to hide their excitement but failed terribly.

“Have Toni text us the address. We need to shower and change out of this gear.” Cheryl said.

“Me too, how about two hours? Is that enough time?” Toni asked.

“That’s perfect, text us!” Tabitha said. Her and the redhead scurried to get their bags and headed towards the parking lot after saying their goodbyes to the remaining Jewelz that lingered around the sidelines. Toni and her crew did the same before starting their route to Toni and Josie’s house to freshen up.


In exactly two hours, they all found themselves sitting at a round table at a local bar. Glasses of wine sat on the table as they all made conversation and small talk. Tabitha and Sweet Pea managed to get a seat next to each other while Cheryl and Toni were separated, seated directly across from one another. It wasn’t that much of a disappointment, however, because the occasional glances in between conversation and when the other takes a sip from their glasses was just as fulfilling as sitting next to each.

“Oh my God, Cheryl, can I please tell them about senior year?” Tabitha practically squealed, Cheryl’s face turned cherry red while she nodded giving Tabitha permission to continue. “Yes! So basically, Cher had this girlfriend during our senior year of college. She had an old name…Cher, what was it again? Marble? Margaret?”

Cheryl hesitated out of embarrassment before finally speaking, “It was… Minerva.”

The groups faced turned before belting into complete laughter. 

“Minerva? Seriously?” Toni asked while wiping away the tears that fell after laughing her brains out. 

“Sounds like she could be my grandma.” Fangs said. 

“I think that is a lovely name.” Thomas added. 

“My point exactly.” Fangs responded.

”What did you used to call her? Minmin?” Sweet Pea teased. 

“Oh my—would you guys shut up? Continue please.” Josie said stifling her own laughter. 

“Thank you Josie, enough of the ridicule.” Cheryl sided with the curly haired woman. 

“Anywho, Minerva was obsessed with Cheryl. During our last week of finals, Minerva asked Cheryl to meet her for a nice dinner to celebrate and at the end of the dinner you guys will never believe what this woman did.”

Tabitha had everyone on the edge of their seats, she was surprisingly good at telling past stories in a way that made people never want her to stop talking. 

“What?” Sweet Pea broke the silence and asked. 

“Cher, do the honors.” Tabitha said. 

Cheryl palmed her face with her hand before speaking into it, “She proposed to me.” 

The entire table stared at the redhead with their eyes wide. 

“She did what?!” Toni asked incredulously. 

The redhead removed her hand and laughed, remembering the event as if it happened yesterday, “She proposed to me and told me that she would never find a love greater than mine for as long as she continues to live… And I politely declined and blocked her in the same night.”

Another fit of laughter erupted but this time it included Cheryl as well. 

“Ouch, heartbreaker!” Josie giggled. “Watch out T—“ The woman couldn’t finish her sentence because of the immediate stare of death Toni shot her way, Cheryl watched the encounter and hid her amusement so that neither knew that she heard what Josie was about to say.

“Speaking of exes! You know we have to talk about Toni.” Sweet Pea said.

“What about me, Pea?” Toni asked, afraid of what her best friend might say. 

“Veronica.” He stated simply, the entire gang with the exception of Tabitha and Cheryl shared a lengthy and tiresome groan. 

Cheryl looked around the table at their exhausted faces and needed to know the story behind this woman, “And Veronica is?”

“Toni’s ex-girlfriend, and let me tell you, red, the girl was batshit crazy.” Sweet Pea explained, Thomas cleared his throat purposefully. 

“Language son, we’re in public.” He said teasingly. 

“Right, sorry Thomas.” He apologized then continued, “She was out of her mind, I swear.”

“I seriously don’t know how Toni didn’t get that girl arrested for half of the things that she did.” Josie added. 

This intrigued Tabitha and Cheryl even more than before. “What happened? What did she do?” Tabitha asked. 

“We were together for two years. Veronica was so possessive, she hated when girls or guys looked at me for too long. She would literally come back to my place and mark my neck with hickeys so that everyone would know that I’m taken—Sorry grandpa.”

The older man waved his hand signaling for her to continue with no shame, “Anyways, I broke up with her because I was tired of her theatrics and she went completely rogue. She stalked me, made fake accounts to see if I was talking to anyone new, sent flowers to my job, even went back home to my grandpa’s house to see if I had been hiding out there.”

“Oh my God, that sounds terrible.” Cheryl said, taking a sip of her wine.

“That’s not even the bad part, she cut the fucking brake line off of my motorcycle.”

Tabitha and Cheryl both gasped in unison, both in disbelief. 

“Thankfully I didn’t fully accelerate. I was walking my bike to the end of the driveway before pulling off when I realized that my brakes didn’t work. I had to get a restraining order.” Toni continued, downing her glass of wine after exchanging her story. 

“Wow, that was lucky. She does sound crazy as hell.” Tabitha said.

“You ride motorcycles?” Cheryl asked. She was completely enthralled with the concept of Toni on a bike. 

Toni couldn’t hide the amusement on her face and pink blush on her cheeks, “That’s the only thing you picked up from my story bombshell?” 

The redhead flushed red while the table laughed and continued to finish off their drinks. They shared a few more stories, some of college and then some in the workforce. The group was impressed with Cheryl’s line of work, they also found out that Tabitha now owned a small diner that her grandfather owned a while back and had plans on opening it as new. After another round of wine, everyone collectively decided to call it quits for the night. After paying and leaving a tip the group strutted into the parking lot still continuing on with conversation. Toni and Cheryl stayed behind the group for an ounce of privacy.

“I really enjoyed myself tonight.” Cheryl said softly.

“I did too. Even if our friends decided to bring up our dirty laundry.” Toni had joked. “But seriously, we should do it again.” Neither of them wanted to admit it but they both wanted to go out again with just each other and not their friends. 

“We should.” Cheryl said stopping to turn towards Toni causing the blonde to do the same. “I know that I’ve said it already but you really did amazing out there today, you were nervous for absolutely nothing.”

Oni felt her cheeks warm up at the compliment, “You as well. And like I’ve mentioned before, I have a phenomenal teacher.”

“Or maybe you’re just a natural.”

“Maybe.” Toni whispered. She watched as Cheryl’s cheeks grew red and chuckled to herself. “It’s cute when you’re flustered.”

“Admitting that I’m cute, Topaz?” Cheryl challenged. She remembered that Toni admitted to liking the redhead say her last name. 

“In the words of a woman that I know, ‘you have to get a few more drinks in me for me to admit such a thing.’” Toni teased. 

Cheryl’s eyes darted back and forth from her lips to Toni’s eyes, the blonde couldn’t help but do the same.

“Remember at the gathering when you asked me if I had an excuse for how I was acting?” Cheryl asked just above a whisper, Toni nodded her head in fear of her voice cracking. “Turns out I don’t have one.” 

Toni had no control over her body, she took one step closer to Cheryl feeling the urge to feel her lips on hers. Cheryl took a step closer as well, loving the feeling of body heat that radiated off of Toni. Their moment was cut short when they heard Sweet Pea’s car alarm fill the entire parking lot. When the pair turned around they saw Tabitha and Sweet Pea laughing uncontrollably at something that happened between the pair that led up to the blaring of his alarm. Cheryl was the first to back away and clear her throat awkwardly. 

“We should go, it seems as if they’re causing trouble.” Cheryl giggled nervously.

Toni agreed and hid her disappointment. She silently vowed to give Sweet Pea an earful about ruining their moment. “Yea, come on, let's gather these goofballs together.”

They both walked over to their best friends in awkward silence. Another night has passed where they both haven’t admitted the feelings that they share. And little do they know how much it was eating the other alive. 

Notes:

This chapter felt excruciatingly long to me so if it felt that way to you too I’m sorry lol. But as always, thanks for reading and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments or lmk on Twitter @topaztrophe. Hope you enjoyed!

Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Notes:

yall still with me?

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“So now, I’m missing five of my hoodies.” Sweet Pea said, swerving the shopping cart down the cereal aisle. He was accompanying Toni in her weekly grocery store run. 

A couple of weeks has passed since her first game as a Jewel. Practice had come easier on Toni as it became her weekly routine. She’s had two games since her first official game as a Jewel, the team unfortunately lost one game but they knew it was more to come. 

The medicine that Dr. Karina had issued to Toni came with plenty of side effects that the blonde was not expecting. She found herself having days where she was irritable, then there were days where she found herself crying for no reason, followed by days spent in bed because her body simply couldn’t handle movement. Fortunately, Fangs knew about the medicine and its side effects so he helped ease the third degree burn that Josie and Sweet Pea would give Toni whenever they tried to force her to hang out with them. 

Toni has also been seeing the redhead more. They’ve spent more days on the beach, conversing while practicing different plays. Toni enjoyed every moment spent with the redhead, which is why she didn’t understand why she nor Cheryl could take it further than meeting for a couple hours at the beach and not out in the open. Granted, they weren’t dating. Neither woman has made an initiative to imply that they wanted to take a further step outside of their growing friendship. 

“Dude, did you hear me?” Sweet Pea asked.

“Hm, what?” 

“I asked have you spoken to Cheryl.”

“Oh… We texted last night, yea.” Toni said debating on if she wanted healthy cereal in oppose to the extra sugar. She ultimately chose the latter. 

Sweet Pea frowned, “You haven’t seen her?” 

“Outside of practice? Once or twice when we went to the beach to work on some skills.” She threw the box into the cart and looked at her best friend, “Why are you pressing me right now?” 

“I’m not pressing you. I was just curious, that's all. Now come on, I need to get another case of protein powder. Fangs took mine.” The taller man said as he avoided the topic. 

“Sweets.” Toni said firmly. 

The man caved, not wanting to deal with an angry Topaz. “Tabitha and I just think that you two are using these ‘extra practices’ as an excuse to see each other because neither of you can actually ask the other to hang out.” 

Toni folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the shelf, “So you and Tab choose to pillow talk about Cheryl and I all day. That’s what I’m hearing?” 

Sweet Pea laughed at the accusation, “Look, we’re just calling it how we see it.” 

“And what do you two see exactly?” Toni challenged. 

“Our two best friends refuse to admit that they actually like each other. I mean, isn't it obvious? The dancing and sneaking off at the Jewelz get together—oh—and don’t think we didn’t see you two almost kiss after dinner!” 

Toni’s eyes widened, “No we were not!”

“You so were!” 

Toni opened and closed her mouth, realizing that this childish debate was not to be held in the cereal aisle of a grocery store. She began to walk out of the aisle headed towards the protein powder. Sweet Pea followed behind her. 

“Look, I’m sorry for being in your business T. But I have to ask, if you know that you like her why haven’t you asked her out? You never have a problem with getting to know the guy or girl you like.” 

“It’s different. I have too much shit going on right now and I don’t need her in it.” Toni mumbled which she thought to herself. 

Sweet Pea was puzzled, “What do you mean ‘too much shit’?” 

Toni quickly shook her head and picked up the protein powder that she knew her two best friends loved and threw it into the cart. “Nothing. Listen, if I ask her out it’s on my own time. Until then, you and Tab can keep your pillow talk about us to a minimum.” 

“You got it boss.” Sweet Pea said, he clearly gave up on trying to get through to her. 


“Do you think that I’m off my game when I'm around Cheryl?” Toni blurted out. She was lying on her back on Josie’s bed while the other woman searched through her closet. Josie quickly peaked her head out of the small room to giggle at her clueless best friend. 

“Sweet Pea talked to you, huh?” 

“He talked to you too?” Toni groaned. 

“T, it’s okay.” Josie said, coming towards the bed and flopping backwards to join Toni. “But seriously, if you like her and you know that she likes you too… What are you waiting for?"

“I don’t know if she likes me.” Toni grumbled. 

Josie rolled her eyes, “Toni, anyone with a pair of eyes can see that she is so into you. I heard that you two almost kissed after dinner.” 

With her eyes widening, Toni groaned dramatically louder. “I’m literally going to hurt Sweet Pea.” 

“Toni.” Josie said firmly, “Focus.” 

“Fine. It’s just that around Cheryl I feel lighter—almost as if a weight lifted off of me. She’s so bright and bubbly and I need that in my life right now.” 

“I’m confused. If you feel that way around her then what’s the problem?” Josie asked. 

“The problem is, I’ve told you how I haven’t been feeling like myself lately and I don’t want to use Cheryl as some sort of clutch.” 

“I think you’re overthinking this, T.” Josie said honestly. “You’ve been feeling down the past couple weeks. I’ve noticed you sleeping more and not in the mood to go out like before. If Cheryl makes you feel like the world is weightless then why not go after something that will make you happy?” 

Toni pondered on what Josie had said to her. She realized that Josie didn’t know about the medication that she was on which caused most of the symptoms that she named. Toni wanted to explore her feelings with Cheryl but she didn’t want to involve her in her new change of life. She also knew that it was nothing to lose if she did take that extra step. 

“I’m gonna ask her out.” Toni said after a moment. “I’m actually going to go call her right now.” 

Toni hopped out of bed and rushed out of the room leaving Josie very amused. “Get your girl!” She yelled out. 

Once Toni made it to her room, she closed her door, walked past her phone that was sitting on its charger and picked up her game controller. She turned on her console and grabbed her headset.

“Ha! Topaz, one. Josie, zero.” Toni said in triumph to herself. She searched for Fangs’ gamer tag and invited him to a party.

“Fogarty!” Toni said into the microphone.

“T! What’s up? You haven’t played in a while, what's the occasion?” 

“Just wanted to relax, how long have you been on?"

“Only a few minutes. Nothing major.” Fangs said into the microphone, “How are you though?”

“A little tired from the medicine. My mood was pretty good until recently.” Toni admitted.

“What happened recently?”

“Josie and Sweet Pea have been on my ass about asking Cheryl out on a date and I’m tired of hearing about it.” Toni explained while she loaded her game. She could hear Fangs laugh on the other end.

“You’re ridiculous.” Fangs said.

Toni raised her eyebrow as if he could see her expression, “Don’t tell me you’re on their side.”

“I’m on nobody's side. I’ll stay out of your love life.”

“This is exactly why you’re my favorite.” Toni said with a goofy grin, “Now, are you ready to get your ass kicked or what?”

“Bring it on!” 

The pair played several rounds of many different games. They talked about how they’ve been doing over the weeks. Fangs told Toni about a man that just started working in his office that he’s taken a liking to. 

His name is Kevin. He's cute in a quirky way? We’ve had lunch.” Fangs gushed.

The blonde was grateful that Fangs didn’t push any further on the topic of Cheryl, she enjoyed having at least one friend not involved in her love life. A few more senseless conversations and games later Toni’s phone rang behind her.

“Hold on Fangs, someone's calling me.” Toni paused her current game and dropped her headset. When she walked over to her phone she saw that it was Cheryl’s contact on her screen. She quickly answered.

“Hey Cheryl.” Toni greeted brightly, although she was conflicted on her next move with the redhead she couldn’t deny how happy her voice made her.

“Hi Toni.” Cheryl said softly. “Is now not a good time?”

“What? No, no. It’s all good. I was just playing a few games with Fangs. How’s it going?”

Well, it’s going… pretty good .” Cheryl said. “Anything interesting coming up?”

Toni laid down, staring at the ceiling with a small smile on her face. “I’ve been thinking about getting a new bike soon.”

A new bike?” Cheryl perked up, “As in a motorcycle?”

Toni had to laugh at her eagerness, “Yes, a motorcycle. I have to work out the finances though, but I am looking to buy pretty soon. Maybe when I get the bike we can go for a ride since it seemed to intrigue you so much at dinner.”

Yea… I would like that.”  Cheryl dragged.

Toni lifted from her lying position. She noticed there was hesitancy in voice and began to worry. 

“Cheryl, is everything okay? You know that I was just messing around, right?” Toni asked with a nervous giggle. 

Yes and yes… No. I called because I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out.” Cheryl muttered. 

Cheryl was no stranger to text Toni whenever she wanted to go to the beach for extra practice so Toni figured that Tabitha must have been planting the same bug in the redhead’s ear just as Sweet Pea and Josie was doing to her.

“We’ve hung out before Cheryl, so of course I want to. What time do you want to meet at the beach?” The blonde asked, trying to play clueless.

No. I meant, hang out somewhere other than the beach… like a date… maybe?” 

Cheryl’s voice was practically trembling. Toni began to feel like maybe the redhead was forced to ask her out instead of genuinely wanting to do so herself. And if Toni were to be honest, it definitely dampened her mood to think like that.

“Cheryl, did Tabitha put you up to this?” Toni asked carefully.

“You know what, nevermind. It was silly to ask.” Cheryl frantically said.

“Wait—Cheryl! I asked because Sweet Pea has been breathing down my back about this. I just want to make sure that you’re asking me out because you want to, not because they’re persuading you.” Toni explained carefully. Cheryl exhaled with a shaky laugh.

Yes, Tabitha has been hounding me as of late but this is something I genuinely want to do… Unless I’ve been reading this whole thing wrong. ” Cheryl said.

“No, not at all. I just wanted to make sure that the intention was genuine. I would love to go on a date with you Cheryl.”

Do you hear my voice? I’m practically shaking right now. Of course, the intention is genuine Toni .” Cheryl breathed. “But I honestly feel like an idiot right now so nevermind.”

Toni furrowed her eyebrows, confused as to what Cheryl was implying. “Wait. So you don’t want to go on a date anymore?” 

No. No, I do. I just… Nevermind, just forget about it.” Cheryl said. She was clearly defeated.

“Cheryl, wait. I get that you probably think that you made a fool of yourself just now but you didn’t. I told you, I would love to go on a date with you.” Toni said. She felt bad that the redhead felt embarrassed and she wanted to assure her that the feelings were mutual. After a small moment of silence Toni decided to try to lighten the mood. 

“Does it count if I ask you out on a date instead?” Toni asked with a grin, hoping that she would get the response she was looking for. 

I...Goodnight Toni. ” Cheryl said with sadness laced in her voice. Toni tried to get another word in but the redhead had already hung up. The blonde had no idea how she should continue after this awkward exchange. Did Cheryl reject her? Was the redhead ever going to ask her out again? 

Toni tried her best to shake off their conversation but it still lingered and bothered her. Hopefully, Cheryl’s nerves were only temporary and not permanent.  

When she walked back over to her controller and headset, she physically palmed her face with her hand when she noticed that she didn’t mute her microphone so Fangs more than likely heard her entire conversation. She blew out a breath and put her headset back on praying that Fangs had left the party.

“Fangs?” Toni called. It was quiet for a moment, she let her shoulders relax after realizing that Fangs probably left the party. That was until she heard snickering on the other side. “Oh come on, Fangs!”

“I’m sorry T.” He said in between laughs. “What the hell was that? Why do you guys act like middle schoolers with each other? You had no game on the phone Toni.”

Ugh. I know Fangs. She just asked me out on a date and then took it back because she felt embarrassed, I guess.” Toni said, putting her controller aside, she had no desire to play the game anymore. “Maybe Sweets and Josie were right. If I would’ve made my move sooner then she wouldn’t have felt so nervous.”

“Sweets, Josie, and Tabitha can’t tell you how to handle your feelings and the actions you take. Only you can tell yourself that Toni.” Fangs said firmly. 

“I want her. That’s no doubt but it scares me how nervous she makes me. I’ve never felt like this around anyone. And I know she feels the same, she almost just cried on the phone with me because she felt like an idiot.”

Give her some time tonight, but then maybe reach out and let her know how you feel.” Fangs suggested carefully, not wanting to trigger the blonde.

“I’ll try Fangs. To be honest, I’m tired for the night. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Toni said defeatedly.

“Okay, T. Get some sleep.” Fangs said softly before disconnecting his microphone. Toni got up and resumed her lying position in bed, still having her gaze at the wall. She hoped that tomorrow Cheryl would be comfortable enough to reach back out to her.


Tomorrow had came and gone but there was no word from the redhead besides small responses in the Jewelz group chat. Practice was cancelled for the week because Tabitha left to visit some family and both coaches agreed that the team was in good enough standing to miss a practice. Which is why Toni was now sitting on her couch on a Friday night with her phone in her hand debating on whether or not she should call Cheryl. 

She wanted to call her, she hated that the situation felt so awkward. Without thinking, she jumped up and grabbed her car keys. Her brain already settled on their next destination and Toni had no control over it.

About twenty minutes later, Toni found herself parked outside of Cheryl’s house. She noticed lights luminating from the windows, indicating that the redhead was clearly woke. Toni knew that showing up to Cheryl’s house in the middle of the night was crazy but she felt like she needed to see the redhead in person.

When she got out of her car she took in a deep breath and approached the front door where knocked three times softly. The door swung open almost immediately but there wasn’t a person behind it. That was until Toni looked down to see a red headed boy standing in the doorway with a toy in his hand.

“Hi…” Toni said to the little boy who she remembered to be Cheryl’s nephew. 

“Who are you?” His small yet raspy voice spoke. He was trying his hardest to put on an intimidating face.

“I’m Toni. Who are you?” Toni asked amused.

“Dagwood.” He answered simply. 

“Hi Dagwood. Is your auntie cherry home?”

“Auntie and mommy told me that I can’t talk to strangers Toni.”

“I’m not a stranger to your auntie. If you could go get her I could show you.” Toni tried to bargain but Dagwood was not impressed. “I’ll make sure auntie cherry buys you and your sister donuts tonight to eat before bed.”

That persuaded the young child, “Auntie Cherry! A girl with a boys name says she’s not a stranger to you! Can she come in?” The boy yells. Toni shakes her head and laughs at his description of her. Cheryl came running down the stairs followed by a blonde who Toni also remembered to be the twins mother, and another redhead child.

“Dagwood!” The blonde called out, “What did auntie and I say about opening the door?” 

“Your hair is so pretty.” The smaller redhead girl said as soon as she saw Toni standing in the doorway. 

“Thank you.” Toni winked before looking up at Cheryl and her sister in law approaching.

“Toni?” Cheryl was confused, “Dag take your sister and go upstairs and play. We’ll talk about your decisions later.” The redhead said, watching his little shoulders slump in defeat as him and his sister retreated back upstairs. 

“Hi. Toni Topaz.” Toni said to the blonde woman next to Cheryl. “I didn’t mean to get him in any trouble, I came to see Cheryl and asked him to get her for me. He did nothing wrong but open the door, he wouldn’t even let me step a foot into the house.”

“It’s fine, I’m sorry I’ve been working with him about stranger danger . I’m Polly by the way.” The blonde says with a smile. “Well, I’ll give you two some privacy.” And with that Polly retreats back upstairs with her kids.

“I’m sorry about showing up unannounced Cheryl. I wanted to talk to you.” Toni apologized softly. 

“No it’s fine really Toni. I’ve missed you. Sorry about the no contact this week.” Cheryl said genuinely. 

Toni’s lips formed a small smile, “I’ve missed you too.”

“And I know I have some explaining to do. Would you like to come in?”

“Actually, I packed my volleyball in the trunk. I figured what better way to talk than to occupy you with something that you love to do.” Toni suggested. “That was so corny and I swear it was better in my head.”

Cheryl laughed brightly, a sound that Toni missed dearly. “I’d love that, let me grab some sandals.” 

Toni waited while Cheryl ran and grabbed a pair of sandals then escorted her to her car. The car ride was silent for the most part with a few comments about the week and the weather. Toni didn’t mind, having the redhead to agree to finally talking to her was just enough. When they arrived at the beach the women exited the car, Toni grabbed the volleyball and they began their journey in the sand. There were barely any people at the beach this late at night so it felt as if they had the entire beach to themselves.

Toni stopped walking after she found a respectable spot on the sand close enough to the water where their feet could catch a small wave. Cheryl stood opposite of her with her hands outstretched for the ball. Toni set the ball to Cheryl with a smug grin, proud of how much better she’s gotten over the weeks.

“Wow. You’re really getting good.” Cheryl said, setting the ball back to Toni.

“Thank you. But we’re not here to talk about my amazing skills.” Toni grinned, “What happened the other night Cheryl?”

“I told you. I felt like an idiot.” Cheryl responded, increasing the pace of the sets.

“Okay, I understand that completely. But I told you that the feelings were reciprocated and you kind of just left me high and dry.” Toni chuckled nervously. “I just wanted to know what was going on.”

“I’m sorry for that, truly Toni. I didn’t mean to ghost you. I just felt so embarrassed making a fool of myself like that. And then when you said that Sweet Pea had been talking to you about it I figured that if he had to say something to you then maybe you weren’t feeling the same feelings that I felt.” Cheryl said, stopping from sending the ball over to Toni. “It’s silly, I know. You told me that you felt the same way but I couldn’t help that feeling. Then as the week went on I figured you probably didn’t want to talk to me because I had been stupid about it.”

“Hey.” Toni said softly, “It’s not stupid. After we got off the phone I literally vented to Fangs about how if I would’ve asked you out sooner we wouldn’t be in this mess.” She took a deep breath before her next sentence.

“I really like you Cheryl. And I would love to get to know you, on actual dates outside of meeting here for a few extra practices. So when you basically said nevermind to us going on a date it kind of hurt because I really wanted to. I still want to. If that’s something you’re still interested in?”

“Of course that’s something I’m interested in. I really like you too, Toni. You make me all shy and jittery. I’ve never experienced anything like that so it’s very…daunting.” Cheryl admitted.

“I feel the exact same way. It’s like I can’t form proper sentences around you. I’ve been trying to keep my cool but to no avail.”

“Well, at least we both know where our feelings stand now.” Cheryl said happily.

“Indeed we do. Now, throw me the ball. Check out what I’ve learned without you.” Toni said with a glint of mischief in her eyes. Cheryl complied with a small laugh, setting the ball towards Toni.

Toni spiked the ball so hard that it rolled into the water crashing against the incoming waves.

“Wait!” She groaned, “that wasn’t supposed to happen!” She said, trying to keep her laughter under wraps.

“Oh my god!” Cheryl laughed. 

“Well, come on! We have to get it!” Toni laughed running towards the water. Cheryl quickly followed her. When the pair made it to the water they strategically climbed the waves trying to grab the ball, Cheryl took a giant step and grabbed it before Toni, causing the smaller girl to stumble in the water a little bit. 

“Hey!” Toni giggled. 

“I’m so sorry.” Cheryl said in between her laughter. 

“Oh, that’s funny?” Toni asked with sarcasm laced in her voice. She brought her hands under the water and pushed them up with force sending a huge splash towards the redhead. 

“Toni!” Cheryl squealed loudly. 

“I’m so sorry.” Toni mocked with a pout. That was the last straw before all hell broke loose. Cheryl threw the volleyball onto the shore and quickly retaliated with a large splash of her own towards Toni. Toni’s blonde hair was soaked, so she got closer and splashed back soaking Cheryl’s hair in return. That’s how it continued: splash after splash, the pair sharing loud squeals and laughter filling up the entire beach. 

Toni doesn’t know how their bodies became so close nor did she mind. Cheryl got the upper hand and in one swift movement turned Toni around pushing her back into the redhead’s chest, she held her arms right around her abdomen and brought Toni further into a huge wave that was approaching and the both of them became equally drenched once the wave came down on them. 

“You don’t play fair!” Toni yelled over the crashing wave as she wiggled herself to turn around in Cheryl’s arms, the redheads arms fell to Toni’s waist. 

“You started it!” Cheryl returned in between soft giggles. 

At this moment, they realized their close proximity. Neither daring to move out of each other's embrace. The way that Cheryl was genuinely smiling at Toni while holding her sent the shorter girl into a daze. Strands of wet hair laid on her face while the droplets of water were falling down her cheeks, her body completely soaked, and her eyes. Her eyes beaming into Toni’s in a way that Toni couldn’t explain. Of course it was an attraction but there was more, it was such a deeper tension hanging in the air. 

As if their bodies were magnets yearning to come together, the women found themselves daring to get closer. With their foreheads resting on each other and their noses touching Toni can feel the tension grow thicker. She felt Cheryl’s breath on her lips and a pull at her waist to bring her even closer. 

“Finish it.” Toni whispered so close that her lips brushed against Cheryl’s while she spoke. 

“What?” The redhead whispered, words were becoming harder to form. 

“I started it, so you finish it.” Toni rasped lowly, her eyes darting between Cheryl’s eyes and her lips. Cheryl didn’t hesitate before softly closing her lips over Toni’s. Both exhaled with a sigh of content onto each other. Their lips moved in a way that an average bystander would mistaken them for a couple that’s been together for years. It felt so right, and it damn sure felt so good. Toni brought her hand to the side of Cheryl’s neck, their lips still moving fluidly. Cheryl’s grip on Toni’s waist tightened and she took the plunge and lapped her tongue against Toni’s bottom lip receiving a soft gasp from the latter who invited her in. This was something Toni wanted to last all night, the feeling of her body being lit on fire was exhilarating but the feeling of this seeming adoration that radiated off of Cheryl towards her was intoxicating. 

Their moment was cut short however when another wave doused them. The two of them were too caught up within each other to notice the impending doom. When their lips broke apart the women both smiled softly.

“I really wish I didn’t mess up when I asked you out on a date. I just really like you Toni.” Cheryl whispered. 

“I know. I really like you too.” Toni whispered back. 

“Are we idiots?” Cheryl chuckled nervously. 

“Yes we are.” Toni laughed, “Cheryl?”

“Wait, no! I want to ask you on a date first.” Cheryl hurriedly said, Toni grinned. 

“I was going to ask if I could kiss you again. But I would love to go on a date with you Cheryl.” Toni said softly. The redhead groaned loudly in embarrassment. 

“I’m such an idiot. Please, kiss me again.” 

Toni didn’t respond, she leaned forward to capture Cheryl’s lips once more for a brief second before releasing. Another wave came crashing onto their bodies. 

“Okay, we seriously need to get out of here before we get any more wet.” Toni said quickly catching her words, Cheryl shook her head at her antics. “I’ll drop you back off at your place, maybe we can talk about this date a little more?”

“I would love that. Let’s get out of here.” Cheryl agreed.

“Oh, we have to get your niece and nephew some donuts too. I kind of promised Dagwood when he was hounding me at the door.” Toni said with a shrug of her shoulders hoping that Cheryl wouldn’t be mad.

“He met you for five minutes and conned you out of donuts?” Cheryl asked with her eyebrow raised.

“What can I say? I’m a people pleaser.” Toni said.

Cheryl just stared at her again, with the same look that made Toni turn into mush. “You sure are Topaz.”

The redhead leaned in to capture Toni’s lips one last time before the pair left. “Let’s go talk about this date.” She whispered.

“Let’s talk about it.” Toni whispered back. The redhead had no idea of the butterflies fluttering in Toni's stomach and how much Toni was mentally thanking herself for driving to her house tonight. 

Notes:

It's been a long while. As always, thanks for reading and lmk your thoughts in the comments!

Notes:

I wanted to start back writing and actually keeping up with a story lol. Thanks K for the three word inspo that got me started. I'll update the tags as I go on because I suck at tagging lmao but lmk how you like it in the comments and on twitter @vxnessxstan
I hope you guys enjoy!