Cheather

Cheather is the femslash ship between Cheryl and Heather from the Riverdale fandom.

Canon
When Cheryl was in junior high, she had a best friend named Heather. Cheryl and Heather were really close and eventually fell in love, but Cheryl's mother, Penelope, a homophobe (who's closeted), found them in bed together and excised Heather from Cheryl's life. Cheryl, already lonely and suffering from parental abuse and neglect, hid away this huge part of herself and internalised her mother's self-hatred. She never saw Heather again or knew what had become of her first love. Cheryl later describes Heather as the only person in her life, beside Jason, who loved and cared for her.

Around 15 years after they were separated, Cheryl learns from her estranged mother that Heather wrote letters to Cheryl after they were forced apart. Penelope apologises, sincerely as she has found religion, and reveals that she had hid the letters from Cheryl all those years. Penelope presents Cheryl with the letters and Cheryl cries as she reads them, realising that she never truly lost Heather and needn’t have suffered. Heather, meanwhile, moved to Greendale with her mother, who soon died in a tragic accident. Orphaned, Heather was taken in by a coven and raised as a witch.

Cheryl tries to decide how to get back in touch with Heather, now that she knows the truth of what happened. She’s very nervous and queries a magic 8 ball on how to proceed. Eventually, she decides to write an e-mail. When she doesn’t hear back, Cheryl chances a call to the library where Heather works, but hangs up immediately upon hearing Heather's voice. Much to Cheryl's surprise, Heather shows up at her door that evening and Cheryl is mesmerised at seeing her again.

Fanon
Cheryl and Heather has always been the subject of much speculation, as Heather was mentioned already back in Season 2 and plays a huge part in Cheryl coming out. Viewers have been curious who this girl was and what happened to her after she and Cheryl were separated. There has been speculative fic written on Heather and her past with Cheryl. After seasons passed and the show derailed, people weren’t expecting this question to be answered. The announcement at 2022 PaleyFest that the character would indeed appear was a big surprise.

Fandom

 * FAN FICTION