Archive of Our Own ^beta

Alice took a deep breath, lifting the rug and moving forward as they walked father into the sewer pipe. The back of her mind kept telling her how wrong this was, to be doing this. To be hiding a body and to be involving her daughter in it, the one that she had been trying to protect from blood and violence the whole time. It didn’t seem fair.

But the rest of her was on autopilot, only thinking about what needed to be done and how to do it most effectively. The analytical part of her brain, the part that could always figure out the best way to get out of a situation, had taken over. It convinced her that getting Betty involved was the best option because if they could pull this off it was protecting all her children in the long run.

“They shut down these sewer pipes decades ago,” Alice said, justifying the decision to her daughter. She knew Betty was just as curious a person as she was, and knew that she was going to want answers. “This used to my secret place as a little girl.”

She pretended to not notice Betty’s reaction to the latter part of her statement. Alice may have been more honest with her daughter in the past few months, but she still didn’t know everything. There was so much that Alice hadn’t told her, and now was not the time to go into it.

Maybe later. If Betty remembered and decided to ask her about it.

‘’’’’’’’’’

Alice sat cross-legged in the sewer pipe, her homework sitting in her lap. She had figured out the perfect spot to get the most sunlight to see her paper while still being as hidden as possible. God knew that she had spent enough time in that place to figure out every minute detail.

The pipe was the only place that she wasn’t bothered. By yelling and screaming, or by stupid kids thinking they were better than her – even though they were all from the South Side. It was quiet. She could concentrate. She could be left alone in peace for once.

In her state of peace, Alice studied her times tables intensely, determined to memorize it. She was close – closer than anyone else in her class – but the eights row and column mystified her for some reason. But she would get it. She knew she would.

It also distracted her from the chaos that was going on at home that afternoon. She hadn’t even walked up the stairs to her home before she heard her father yelling at her mother.

“Why do you have to be such a goddamn bitch all the fucking time?” he had asked, sounding like his wife had broken the last straw. It was always the last straw for him.

“I wouldn’t have to be such a bitch if you would get off your ass and do something besides drink our money away!” her mother had responded, just as loud.

Alice had entered as quietly as possible, trying to sneak past them as they yelled. However, living in a trailer didn’t give much opportunity for that to be successful.

“Where the hell have you been?” her father said, turning his anger towards her. She had stood there, not sure if she should say anything or not. “I asked you a fucking question!”

“Don’t start with her!” Mrs. Smith said. “She has nothing to do with what’s happening right now, okay? This is on you.”

“I just wanted to grab my times tables,” Alice finally said, trying to get him to stop yelling. She knew that it wouldn’t work, but it was worth a shot.

Mr. Smith had just rolled his eyes. “How long have you been working on that shit? What are you, stupid?”

That had caused a whole new tirade from Alice’s mother, berating him for being such a piece of shit. Alice had just grabbed her times tables and left before their voices got any louder.

It was okay, though. She was gonna memorize the tables today and be the one to get the special stickers for excelling so she could brag about it. So she could shove it in her dad’s face.

She would show him who was stupid.

“Get back here, you little bastard!”

Alice tensed out of instinct, relaxing only when she realized that it wasn’t her father’s voice. It sounded like it was far away, but she still slid back farther into the pipe. Just because it wasn’t her dad yelling didn’t mean that she shouldn’t be careful.

The yelling from a distance continued for a little while, but it was only one-sided. She never heard any responses. She went back to her times tables, figuring that the guy would leave eventually.

“Eight times three is twenty-four,” she muttered, closing her eyes so she wasn’t looking at the paper. “Eight times four is thirty-two. Eight times five is –“

A figure came rushing into the pipe, stopping when he saw her. She drew in a breath to scream, but his hand went over her mouth before she could get it out.

“Please don’t scream,” he whispered, his brown eyes wide with fear. She searched his face, recognizing it as one of her classmates that she never really talked to. The fear looked out of place on him. He was usually upbeat and making jokes at the teacher’s expense, a playful glint in his eyes as the children around him laughed.

Slowly, she nodded, noting that the guy yelling must be his dad. If the situation was reversed, she would want him to do the same. He visibly relaxed, taking his hand away and leaning back against the other side of the pipe. They were both silent as the yelling grew quieter, and finally stopped.

 “Thanks,” he said, though his voice was still quiet. “I’m sorry I scared you. I didn’t realize anyone was in here.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I would want someone to do the same for me.”

“He doesn’t usually get like this, you know?” he continued, trying to act cool and failing. “It’s just sometimes I piss him off and –“

“Forsythe,” she said, cutting him off as she raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s okay. My dad yells, too.”

He searched her face, and she wasn’t sure what he was looking for. He must’ve found it though, because he relaxed again. “You know my name?”

She nodded, looking back down at her paper. “Of course. We’re in the same class. Mrs. McKinnon, third grade. Forsythe is the name she yells the most.”

“I know that,” he told her, rolling his eyes. “And Alice is the one that she praises the most.”

She knew that he had meant that to tease her, but she couldn’t help the pride that swelled up in her chest as she said that. She may be known as a teacher’s pet, but at least she was getting positive attention. “I’d rather be praised than reprimanded.”

Forsythe snickered. “Oooh, big words.”

“Do you know that it means?” she asked, tilting her head as she looked at him. “Or would you like me to define it for you?”

“I know what it means,” he said, shooting a glare at her quickly before looking down at her paper. “What are you working on there?”

“Times tables,” she told him simply. “Do you want to work on them together?”

“Come on, you don’t have to work on those,” he said. “You know them all already.”

“I have trouble with the eights,” she admitted.

“Oh, is that all?” he asked with a roll of his eyes.

“You know this is still my secret place that I let you invade, right?” she said, glaring at him. “Are you trying to get kicked out?”

“No, no,” he said, putting his hands out in front of him in defeat. “I just mean that you’re really smart. If you’re only having trouble with one part of it, you’re smart.”

“Well, what are you having trouble with?” she asked, curious.

He looked down at his lap, picking at a spot on his jeans. “All of it.”

 “Why?” she asked. “It’s really not that hard if you practice.”

“I can’t,” he admitted, not looking up. “My dad messed up my copy. Poured beer on it and got it all smudged up.”

Her heart hurt looking at him like that. She remembered how much he struggled when their teacher would call on him during the lesson and rolling her eyes because he must not have tried. But it wasn’t that he didn’t want to learn. It was that the tools that they gave him got destroyed.

“I can help you,” she said. “We can go over them right now if you want.”

“Really?” he asked, his eyes finally meeting her in surprise. “You would do that?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Here.”

She pulled out her sketchbook – the one that her mother had gotten her for Christmas –  and a pencil, finding a blank page and drawing out a big square. “I’ll make you a copy. But you have to promise to keep it where your dad can’t mess it up.”

“I will,” he promised, nodding enthusiastically.

“Okay,” she said. “And if you ever need help when we’re not at school, I’m usually here. So feel free to stop by whenever.”

She nodded herself and got to work making him his own times table. This had been her secret place for a while, but now she had someone to share it with. A secret between her and someone else. A friend.

And as much as she liked being along from all the yelling, it was nice to have someone to talk to instead.

‘’’’’’’’’’

Alice walked into the kitchen with groceries in hand, mentally shaking herself out of her thoughts when she saw blood covering the floor. It wasn’t really there. She knew that.

Lord knows that she had used enough bleach.

Betty took off the gloves that she was wearing, and Alice didn’t ask what she was doing. The way her daughter had been acting, she wouldn’t be surprised if Betty had wiped down the entire house again.

“Dad was here. He was pissed off and he was asking a lot of questions.”

“Oh my God.”

Alice looked at her daughter, who seemed to be calmer that she had earlier that day. While she was glad that Betty wasn’t in constant panic anymore, it hurt that her daughter was getting used to the violence and the lies. One of the reasons that Alice had wanted to leave the South Side was so that her children didn’t have to deal with what she had growing up.

But she had since learned that she never could escape the lies.

“Yeah, but don’t worry,” Betty told her. “He won’t be back.”

It was curious that Betty was so confident in that fact, but Alice didn’t push it. She was far too happy to never let Hal set foot into that house again.

“Mom.” She looked at Betty, noticing her hesitation. “We’re in way over our heads here. The Shady Man’s car was parked outside our house for two days.”

Alice’s stomach dropped, her heartbeat suddenly more noticeable to her as adrenaline filled her body. How could she have overlooked that? How could she have been so stupid? Of course he had a car. He had to have gotten to the house somehow. “What?”

“It’s okay,” Betty continued, her tone assuring. “Jughead and I took care of it.”

“You told Jughead?” Alice asked, her panic rising. Why would Betty do that? Alice was feeling guilty enough that she had involved her daughter, but now Jughead was a part of this? How long would it take for other people to get involved?

“Yes,” Betty said, frustration clear in her tone. “I keep thinking about that damn body, and about who might come looking for it. And how many loose ends are out there that we’re not even thinking about.”

Alice looked away, trying to stay calm. Betty was right. Of course she was right. As sure as Alice had been a couple of nights ago, there was still the fact that there was so much that they didn’t know. So much they couldn’t control.

“We need help, Mom” Betty continued, staring her down.

No, no, no. She couldn’t. It was too risky. She couldn’t lose Chic. She had just gotten him back.

“We can’t go to the police,” Alice insisted, looking her daughter in the eye. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I just can’t.”

She couldn’t help the way her voice broke, the thought of the police finding out terrifying her. She couldn’t protect Chic when he was a child, but she was sure as hell going to protect him now.

Betty shook her head gently. “I’m not talking about the police.”

Alice searched her face for a minute, trying to figure out what her daughter was saying. “Then what do you suggest?”

“You’re not gonna like it,” Betty admitted. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you hate him, though I have no idea why.”

Who was she talking about? Jughead already knew and had helped, so if she was talking about him, that ship had sailed. The only other person that Betty could think that she hated was –

“No,” she said, realization hitting her hard. “We’re not getting FP involved. We can’t do that.”

“Mom, he can help us,” her daughter insisted, taking a step towards her. “As much as I hate to think about it, he’s done this before.”

“And he went to jail for it, Elizabeth!” Alice said, trying to talk some sense into her. “The only reason he did it with Jason was to protect Jughead from Clifford Blossom. Do you really think he’d be willing to do it now when we’re not threatening his son? And how do you think Jughead is going to feel if we jeopardize dad’s freedom?”

“It was Jughead’s idea, Mom,” she said. “And he would be protecting Jug, because as much as I hate it, Jug’s involved in this now.”

“I can’t do that to him,” Alice said, resting her hands on the counter. “I can’t make him risk himself like that. He’s already on parole. That he’s violating by the way, by still being a part of the Serpents!”

“Mom,” Betty said, resting a hand on her mom’s arm. “If we really want this to go away… If this is really going to be put behind us, we don’t have a choice.”

She looked into her daughter’s eyes and knew she was right. If she truly wanted to protect her family, she was going to have to ask this of FP.

“Okay,” she agreed, nodding. “Let’s go talk to him.”

“Okay, Betty said, grabbing her coat and heading for the door. “Good. Because Jug’s probably telling him right now, anyway.”

“Elizabeth!”

‘’’’’’’’’’

“What the hell, Jughead?!”

FP looked at his son in disbelief before beginning to pace. “How the hell could you be so stupid?”

“Dad, I’m not the one who killed him,” Jughead said, keeping his seat in the middle of the couch. “I haven’t even seen him. I just helped Betty get rid of the car.”

“After TWO DAYS?” he asked, stopping and looking at his son again. “They left it out there for two days?”

Jug rubbed at his temple. “I know, I know. But neither of them knew that it was his.”

“It doesn’t matter, Jug!” FP said, trying to get it through to his son. “It was there for two days. The neighbors noticed and complained and sent out cops. The cop saw, probably took plates down, and you told her that it was yours. If they find that car or the body, all they need to do is ask a few questions and they can tie it back to their house, and possibly to you!”

“It’s not like they’re used to thinking these things through, Dad!” his son said, defending them now. “I think they did pretty well considering!”

“They should’ve called the cops!” FP argued. It was a pretty hypocritical statement coming from a convicted gang member, but they were North Side. The cops would work with them. “If Alice killed him in self-defense, then they have the law on their side, Jughead!”

“It wasn’t Alice!” Jug told him. “It was Chic!”

“Who the hell is Chic?” he asked, throwing his arms out. 

“I haven’t told you?” Jug asked, looking at his dad carefully. “It’s Betty’s brother. Alice’s son.”

FP felt his breath catch for a second as he looked at Jughead. “Brother? Son?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Alice got pregnant in high school –“

“I know the story, Jug,” he said, putting a hand up to stop his son from continuing. A little too well. “What the hell is he doing here? In Riverdale?”

“Betty wanted to find him,” Jughead explained. “Thought that it would help Alice after everything with Polly.”

FP sat down across from Jughead, running his hands down his face as he tried to process what he had just been told. Alice’s son was in Riverdale, and with the Coopers. Did people know? Was Alice hiding him, or was she embracing him? Alice had always been someone who cared about her image, about how people saw her, and most people didn’t even know that she had been pregnant. It honestly surprised him that she would let him in so easily and risk what she had built for so long.

But then again, that was something that had been crumbling for a long time.

“Dad?” Jughead asked hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

FP looked at him and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. So… Chic is the one that killed this guy? In self-defense?”

“That’s what Betty said,” Jug said. “But Dad, they need help. Betty’s going crazy over everything that they might’ve missed. We need to make sure that everything’s going to be okay.”

“And you think I’m gonna help and land myself back in jail?” he asked, his anger coming back as he pushed thoughts of Chic from his mind. He could deal with that later.

“Of course I don’t want you to go back to jail, Dad,” Jug told him. “But they need help, and as much as I’m a part of them, I don’t want the Serpents involved. Too many people knowing about this –“

“I know,” FP said with a nod. “It’s not good. And honestly, after Alice abandoning the Serpents like she did, I don’t know if anyone would really be willing to help her.”

“Are you?” his son asked. “I know that you and Alice aren’t the best of friends, but Betty’s an accessory to this. She helped move the body and drowned the house in bleach to get rid of everything. I don’t want her going down for this.”

Putting his face in his hands, FP thought about it. The last thing he wanted was for Betty to go to jail, and if he was being honest, he didn’t want that for Alice, either. Things had gone bad for them, but it didn’t mean he wanted her to suffer like that. He had been in jail, knew how tough it was. Alice was tough, too, but he didn’t want her to have to deal with what he did.

The lights of a car passed the window, and FP looked at his son.

“That’s probably them,” he said, giving a little shrug as he smiled half-heartedly.

“Goddammit, Jug.”

“Dad, please –“

“I don’t wanna go back for this, Jug!” he yelled, hearing the car doors open and shut. “This is a lot to ask of me!’

“I know, and if you don’t want to help, at least tell us how to do this,” Jughead begged. “We’ll deal with the rest.”

He gave his son an incredulous look as there was a knock on the door, but he didn’t say anything as he went to answer it.

“Dad!”

He barely got the door open before Alice started talking. “FP –“

“Save it, Alice,” he said. “Jughead just told me. All of it.”

Including the part about Chic, he wanted to say, but didn’t. He looked back at his son, how distressed he was at the whole situation. Right there and then he made his decision. Jughead was a part of this, too. He stayed in the Serpents to protect Jughead. He was going to do this, too. To protect all of them.

“I’m not gonna let the three of you make the same mistake that I made with Jason Blossom. Come on.”

He motioned for them to come inside, watching Alice as she searched his face, as if she was surprised that he would actually say yes. Finally, she looked back at Betty and walked inside, obviously still wary.

If she was surprised that he was going to help her, then she had forgotten who FP Jones was. He had gotten her out of messes before, and he wasn’t going to stop now.

‘’’’’’’’’’

“All right, here’s the address, and here’s the product.”

FP looked down at the bag, picking up the piece of paper that was placed on top of it.

“And why do I have to go with them again, Shaggy?” he asked, looking at the man in front of him to avoid looking at Alice. Of course he wouldn’t be so lucky as to avoid her last drop. The universe was a cruel mistress, and it didn’t give a fuck how he felt about it.

“Because this drop is close enough to Ghoulie territory that they might cause a scene,” Shaggy explained.  “We need some muscle.”

“I think Penny and I are fully capable of taking care of ourselves,” Alice insisted from somewhere behind FP. He didn’t look to see exactly where.

“I don’t care,” Shaggy snapped at her. “This isn’t whether you got tits or balls, all right? I care that Ghoulies might be around and that they’re gonna have more than two people patrolling. If they try anything, I want as fair a fight as possible. So FP and Tall Boy are going, end of story.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Alice muttered, sarcasm dripping from her voice, and it took everything in FP not to laugh. He had to remember that they were done. He was honestly doing his best to hate her.

Jury was still out on how well it was working.

“We’ll handle it,” FP said, taking the bag. “Don’t worry.”

“This if fun,” Penny said as they made their way to the car. “Just like old times, huh?”

“Yeah,” Alice agreed dryly. “Just the best!”

FP popped the trunk open, dropping the bag in and closing it. Better to claim ignorance when the product wasn’t in your line of sight.

“Tall Boy, sit with me!” Penny said, opening the back door and sliding in.

Tall Boy grinned at her as he peered into the back seat. “Only if you promise not to bite.”

“Now, Tall Boy,” she said, her voice oozing with a put-upon sweetness. “I think we both know I can’t promise that.”

Tall Boy rolled his eyes but got in next to Penny regardless. One day that boy was going to learn not to do everything Penny said, or he would regret it.

FP pulled open the driver’s door as Alice opened the passenger and the reality set in. He was going to have to sit next to Alice this whole time, and Penny had planned it that way.

Fucking bitch.

“Interesting seating choice,” Alice quipped as she buckled her seatbelt. So she knew what was going on just as well as he did. And was just as unhappy about it.

“What?” Penny asked innocently, snapping her gum. “Just like old times, right?”

FP chuckled, surprised at Penny’s nerve, but he started the car. If only this was like old times, it would’ve been a lot more fun. Now, he couldn’t wait to not be breathing the same air as Alice. She was ready to get out of the South Side for good, go to college and have her dream wedding to Preppy Boy. He was ready to graduate and enlist in the Army, so he could get stationed somewhere cool like Hawaii. That way he would never have to see her again. That way he didn’t have to feel angry all the time.

He knew it wasn’t really anger when he saw her, but that’s what he was going to call it. It was better to think it was anger.

They all drove in silence for a few minutes, the awkwardness choking him like a noose.

“So… what’s new?” Penny asked, and for once he was glad that she opened her mouth. “How’s Preppy Boy, Alice?”

And the gladness was gone.

“Hal is fine,” Alice said coldly. “And he doesn’t appreciate being called Preppy Boy.”

“That’s what he is, isn’t it?” Tall Boy asked, laughing. “His parents own the newspaper for God’s sake. They’re fucking loaded. I bet he’s gonna go to some Ivy League where they have to wear blazers on his parent’s dime and just waste it away.”

“Hal actually cares about his grades,” Alice said, defending her boyfriend. “He’s going to be salutatorian at graduation. And, by the way, he just got his acceptance letter to Princeton with a football scholarship, not his parents’ money. Full ride.”

“I’m sorry,” Penny said, leaning in between the fronts seats. “I thought you were trying to convince us that he’s not a Preppy Boy.”

Tall Boy laughed loudly, and FP couldn’t help the grin on his face as Alice rolled her eyes.

“Fuck you, guys,” she said, pushing Penny back into her seat. “I’m valedictorian you know, and I just got into Princeton on a full ride, too, thank you for asking!”

“Whoa,” FP said before he could stop himself. He had known for a long time just how much Alice had dreamed of Princeton – or any Ivy League honestly. “For real?”

Alice looked at him for a moment, surprised that he had actually talked to her. “Yeah. Just got my letter today.”

“Congrats, Mrs. Preppy Boy,” Penny told her, laughing when Alice glared at her. “I’m kidding. That’s seriously awesome, Alice. Go show those snobby pricks what South Siders are capable of!”

“I’d rather not,” she muttered, looking out the window. “That’s exactly why I’m done after this drop. I have these great opportunities ahead of me, guys. I can’t fuck it up.”

Anger rose in FP, knowing that she wouldn’t have had to do the drop if it wasn’t for Penny. He caught the girl’s eye in the rearview mirror, and all she did was shrug, her eyes wide in fake innocence.

Fucking bitch.

He stopped, pulling over on the curb a few hundred feet from the address. “All right. I’m gonna drop this. You guys stay here and watch out for any Ghoulies.”

He went to open the door, stopping when Penny spoke up. “Why doesn’t Alice do it?”

“What the hell, Pen?” Alice asked, looking back at her.

“Shut the fuck up, Penny,” FP snapped, looking between the two girls. Penny raised her eyebrow at Alice, a menacing glint in her eye as he tilted her head towards FP, and Alice swallowed thickly, understanding the non-verbal message. He knew that she was going to agree before she said anything. “Ali, don’t. You don’t have to do this.”

“No, it’s all right,” she said, a fake cheerfulness obvious on her voice. “It’s my last time. Go out with a bang, right?”

“Will someone just fucking go?” Tall Boy asked. “We’re losing time here.”

“We’ll both go,” FP said, not letting Alice have a say. “Safer in pairs. You two watch out for Ghoulies.

He got out and walked to the trunk, Alice storming behind him.

“What the fuck, FP?” she asked, fury plain on her face. “I don’t need to be babied. I can do the drop myself.”

“And if a Ghoulie finds you before you make it?” he proposed, raising an eyebrow at her.

“I can take care of myself,” she insisted. “I’m not some precious damsel that needs to be protected.”

“Fuck, Alice, this isn’t some chivalry thing!” he said, grabbing the bag and slamming the trunk. “It’s just safer to go in pairs.”

“Would you let Tall Boy go by himself?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him in question. “You were willing to go by yourself.”

“Do you wanna go to Princeton or not?” he asked, frustration eating at him. “Because if you do, you’ll shut up and let me go with you and give you some plausible deniability if something happens.”

She looked him up and down for a moment, looking surprised. “Fine. But why do you care?”

He shrugged, heading towards the house that they were supposed to meet at. “We take care of our own.”

He couldn’t see her, but he knew that she rolled her eyes at the age-old saying of the Serpents. “Bullshit, FP.”

“It’s the truth,” he said, keeping his pace. “Also, I’m not letting you sacrifice your son just to end up killed by a Ghoulie or in jail.”

Her steps faltered, and he finally looked back to see her face full of emotion yet completely unreadable. He usually liked to study her when she was like that, the cipher to her emotions memorized in his brain. But not this time. He didn’t want to look at her for that long. Didn’t want to take the time to decipher the hidden messages in her eyes. That wasn’t his job.

Not anymore.

“Are you coming or not, Ali? We got a deadline.”

He started walking again, and he heard her boots follow. Double-checking the address, he went up to the steps and knocked on the door, hearing Alice stop a few steps behind him.

The door opened, revealing a middle-age man in jeans and a wife-beater, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. FP didn’t know his name, but he recognized his face from the few times he had dropped off to him before.

“Hey,” the older man said, a smile on his face. “You got it?”

“Yeah,” FP nodded. “We got it.”

“Hey, beautiful,” he said to Alice as he grabbed the envelope with cash in it from the entryway table. “Long time, no see.”

“I went on vacation,” she joked, her arms crossed on her chest as she smirked at him.

“Sounds nice,” he said as he took the bag and handed FP the money. “It did you good – not that you didn’t look amazing before.”

“You always know how to sweettalk a girl,” she teased with a grin. FP knew that it was all a show. In reality, she could barely stand the guy. Said that the way he looked at her gave her the creeps. He didn’t blame her, really. It was creepy. “Good night, lover boy.”

“Night, sweetheart.” And with that, the older man closed the door, the transaction completed.

“Aren’t you glad that I went with you now?” FP asked her as they walked back towards the car.

She shuddered, shooting him a glare. “I don’t hate it.”

“Hey, snakes!”

They both froze for a second, looking at each other with wide eyes.

Ghoulies.

The voice was too close for them to run and make it to the car, so instead they hunkered down and turned around. FP couldn’t help the scoff that escaped him. It would be Leo and his posse.

“We’re not here for any trouble, Leo,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets. “This is neutral territory.”

“Letting snakes on the perimeter is just as bad,” Leo pointed out, catching up to them as his friends stayed behind. “If you don’t watch them, they end up in your home. Snakes are sneaky like that.”

“That’s not what we’re trying to do,” Alice said as car doors shut behind them. Their backup. “We were just leaving. Let us leave.”

“I could do that,” he said, nodding thoughtfully. “But what kind of deterrent would that be to other snakes? If I hang one of you from a pole as a warning however, the rest of the snakes know to stay away.”

He pulled out a knife so quickly that FP had no idea where it came from, and he was pushing Alice behind him in an instant. “Leo, you don’t wanna start any blood, all right? We’re cool.”

“This isn’t even your territory to protect,” Penny said from behind him. “We have just as much right to be here as you do.”

“Yeah?” Leo asked. “Not for long.”

He lunged, and FP went for him, blocking the Ghoulie’s attack as he punched him. He felt a sharp pain on his arm and knew that he had been sliced, but he wasn’t worried about it. It didn’t feel that deep.

The knife clattered to the ground, and Leo’s friends charged, going for the other Serpents.

“Why do you have to be such a fucking idiot!” He yelled, putting Leo in a headlock as he annoyed the sting on his left arm. “Just leave us the fuck alone!”

FP wasn’t sure what happened next. He pushed Leo away from him, and one of the other Ghoulies screamed in pain as sirens kicked up. He looked back, all the Ghoulies running except for one, who was clutching his stomach as blood seeped between his fingers. Alice looked at FP in shock, Leo’s knife in her hands.

“What are you doing?” he asked. “Let’s go!”

The Ghoulie attempted to run as FP lunged towards Alice, trying to get the knife from her. His hand went around hers as the patrol car whipped around the corner, stopping in front of them as the doors opened.

“Police!” the officer said. “Put your hands up!”

They all obeyed, the knife being transferred to FP’s hands, reflecting the red and blue lights and making the blood on it look even worse.

“Put the weapon down!” the other officer said, pointing his gun directly at her. He dropped the knife immediately, glancing over at Alice and seeing her hands – blood on them as they were lifted above her head – shaking. He may have been holding the knife when the cops came, but she was the one who had blood on her hands.  

They lined up against the wall, and FP looked at Alice as tears filled her eyes.

I have these great opportunities ahead of me, she had said. I can’t fuck it up.

But there’s a good chance she might have.

The cops called back-up, and Tall Boy and FP ended up in the same cruiser.

Tall Boy leaned over to him, alone while the officers spoke outside the car. “Can you imagine if they had gotten here five minutes before?”

FP simply nodded, relief flooding him at that fact. As it was, they were going to the station for fighting in the streets, which might get them a night in jail at the worst. But if the cops had shown up before then… everyone would have been fucked.

“Yeah,” he finally said as the cops opened their doors to get in. “Thank God.”

‘’’’’’’’’’

“You used the rug?” FP asked, looking at Alice incredulously.

“Of course,” she said defensively. “It was either that or let everyone see a dead body being loaded into my car – which I then cleaned very thoroughly by the way.”

“Alice,” he said, trying his best to remain calm so he didn’t upset her further. He didn’t need her getting defensive now. He needed her to trust him. To tell him everything. “Did you happen to clean the rug?”

“We didn’t,” Betty said, her voice quiet. “We just put him in it.”

“Do you realize how much DNA is probably on that rug?” he asked. “I don’t care if you vacuum ten times a day. You were eating dinner at the table, which means there’s probably hair, skin, clothing fibers, something that belongs to you. Something that they can trace back if that body is found.”

“Oh my God.” Betty dropped her head down, almost folding herself in half as she sat on the couch. Jughead rubbed her back soothingly, but it didn’t help.

“I didn’t even think of that,” Alice said, horror overcoming her features. “God, how could I be so stupid?”

“We should’ve just called the police, Mom,” Betty said, her voice thick as she sat back up. “We could’ve explained. They wouldn’t have taken Chic away.”

Alice looked between Betty and FP quickly, horror quickly turning to panic. He stared back at her intently. “I know about Chic, Alice. Jug told me.”

“I can explain, FP –“

“It doesn’t matter right now,” he said, dismissing her imminent apology. “What we need to worry about right now is the body. Where did you hide it?”

“In the sewer pipe,” she admitted, looking down at her hands. “I knew that nobody went down there and that it would be the safest bet.”

“Okay,” he nodded, his stomach turning a little at the thought of his childhood hiding place being defiled by a body like that. But it probably hadn’t been the first time.

He thought for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to get rid of the body in a more permanent way. One that would never tie it back to anyone, much less Alice.

“Doing someone’s dirty work is a hard job,” an inmate had told him quietly in the mess hall one day. FP had become pretty well-known in there after what he had done. “But I’m not in here for that myself. No, I’m in for something a lot less troublesome, and you know why? Sodium hydroxide, that’s why. You wanna make sure that the problem is taken care of? You bury it with some of that and a week later it’ll be gone. All of it. Even its teeth.”

He had cringed at the information then, but it was useful now. “Okay, I know how to fix this.”

‘’’’’’’’’’

Alice bounced her knee quickly, ready to get out of the holding cell and be home. She couldn’t let Hal find out about this. She couldn’t let anyone find out about this.

“What’s taking them so long?” Tall Boy asked, getting up and pacing. “Just let us go home and we can be on our way.”

“They’re probably trying to figure out if that Ghoulie is gonna die or not,” Penny said, sitting patiently on the bench. The four Serpents were the only ones that were in the cell, which Alice honestly preferred. The Ghoulie was at the hospital getting his cut treated. The cut that she had given him.

“Yeah, well FP got cut, too,” Tall Boy said. “You don’t see him being a pussy about it.”

Alice looked over at FP, who had taken of his jacket and flannel, a bandage over the cut that he had gotten from Leo. “His isn’t as bad. I think the Ghoulie needed stitches.”

“Pussy,” Tall Boy muttered, and Alice rolled her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter,” FP said, giving them all a pointed look. “Whatever happens, you guys don’t have to worry about it. Because I’m the one who cut him, remember?”

“FP, don’t be ridiculous!” Alice said, standing up and walking over to him. “And don’t be an idiot.”

He looked up at her, his arms leaning on his knees. “If charges get pressed, it’s better if I’m the one who did it. I told you, Alice. I’m not letting your choices be for nothing.”

She couldn’t help the anger that flared in her, at how stupidly reckless he was being. “I will figure it out. I was defending myself.”

“It won’t matter,” he insisted. “They won’t care.”

“And you doing it is any better?” she asked. “What about your future?”

“I’m not going to Princeton,” he reminded her. “I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, but you’re gonna go into the Army,” Tall Boy cut in. “Won’t this look bad?”

“What?” Alice asked, her stomach dropping as she looked between Tall Boy and FP. “You’re doing what?”

“I’ll be fine,” FP repeated. “There are plenty of delinquents in the Army. They wouldn’t have any soldiers if they didn’t take us.”

“You’re seriously enlisting?” Alice asked, feeling her breathing get faster. How could he do that? It was too dangerous. “Do you realize how dangerous that could be for you?”

“No more dangerous than staying here, Alice,” he said, standing up and staring her down. “And don’t act like you care.”

“I do care!” she argued.

“Really?” he asked. “Then why are you getting the hell out of dodge and leaving us in the dust?”

“I’m not…” she tried to argue, but the look in his eyes stopped her. He was right. Of course he was. She was leaving them for Hal, for Princeton, for everything she had ever wanted when she was growing up. To get out of the South Side and actually make something of herself.

“You two!” They all jumped, looking at the officer who had appeared out of nowhere. “Finish your lover’s quarrel later. We’ve got processing to do.”

“Processing?” Penny asked. “For what?”

“Disturbing the peace, for one,” he said. “And possibly assault if the other guy decides to press charges.”

“If?” Alice asked under her breath. Of course he was going to press charges. The opportunity to send a Serpent behind bars would be too good to pass up. And it wouldn’t matter what FP said to the cops, even if she let him. He knew that she was the one who cut him, because she was the one that was fighting him off at the time.

She followed her friends out of the cell, trying to stay calm. She took a deep breath, thinking of the positives. It honestly could be a lot worse. She could be going to jail for drug trafficking. She could still go to jail for assault, but at least it wouldn’t be as long.

It would definitely still mess up Princeton, though.

Praying to whatever god that would listen that things would go okay for her, she was more determined than before. Hal’s family could never find out.

 ‘’’’’’’’’’

Alice sat on the couch of the trailer, wringing her hands as FP put on his jacket.

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to go with you, Dad?” Jughead asked, standing in the kitchen.

“No,” FP said, shaking his head. “The less people there, the better. If someone’s gonna get caught with the body, it’s better that it’s me.”

Alice scoffed as Jughead argued. “Dad, no it’s not!”

“My reputation is already ruined, Jughead,” he countered. “No one will be surprised at least.”

“You don’t have to be so self-sacrificing all the time, FP,” Alice snapped, unable to keep her frustrated laugh from escaping.

“Excuse me?” he asked, coming back around to the living room and giving her an incredulous look. “You think I’m being self-sacrificing right now?”

“Yeah, I do,” she said, refusing to back down. She had never backed down with him before and she wasn’t going to start now. “With this plan, you could use some help, but you’re just too damn noble to accept it. You have to be some knight-in-shining-armor and put yourself in the worst of it, all the while refusing any help to share the burden!”

It was FP’s turn to scoff as he backed away slightly, but she knew how he worked. Knew that his anger was building. Both of them ignored the way that their children were looking at them, smart enough to know that this wasn’t a new argument.

“You came to me!” he yelled, pointing his finger at her accusingly. “You’re the one that showed up at my doorstep, asking for my help!”

“For your help!” she argued, standing up so she could properly match his fire. “Not for you to save me and do it all for me!”

“I’m trying to be logical here, Ali!” They both hesitated at the nickname, falling off his lips like he had never stopped using it. It gave her a rush of emotions that she didn’t want to feel, and she knew that they showed on her face by the way his eyes studied it, the cipher code at work.

“Mom,” Betty said, breaking the tension gently as she stood up from her seat as well. Alice turned to look at her, wiping the emotions from her face “I don’t like this plan anymore than you or Jughead, but I think we need to trust FP here.”

FP nodded towards the younger girl, looking back at Alice pointedly. “Thank you, Betty. At least somebody here does.”

“Please.” Alice rolled her eyes at his dramatics. “It’s not about trust and you know it.”

“So what is it about?” Jughead asked, looking between the parents, obviously confused. And curious. Alice cursed whatever fate made both of their children so observant.  

“Nothing,” FP said, shaking his head. “Just stick to the plan.”

“FP –“

“Alice.” He looked her in the eye and raised an eyebrow at her. “Sticking to the plan.”

“Fine,” she said, crossing her arms. “Someone should stay here and make sure the children don’t tell anyone else anyway.”

“Hey!”

“Mom!”

FP grinned as he made his way to the door. “Good idea. Meet you at Pop’s.”

‘’’’’’’’’’

“Fuck you, Hal!”

She slammed the door to Hal’s car as hard as she could, hoping that it would break off. She could barely see straight. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she tasted blood in her mouth. As she held the newspaper in her fist, she could feel her whole body shaking with rage.  

“I didn’t have anything to do with this!” he said, following her as she walked to her trailer. “I don’t know what goes in the paper, Alice!”

“You didn’t think that this was something that they might do?” she asked, swinging the newspaper around. “You didn’t even suspect that they might hold this over my head?”

“No!” he insisted. “I didn’t! They seemed okay with it when it happened! Now can we go inside, honey? You’re making a scene.”

Alice couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her. “A scene? A scene? You’re in a fucking trailer park, Hal, you don’t think it’s seen its fair share of scenes?”

“Alice, just calm down please.”

“WHY THE FUCK WOULD I CALM DOWN?” she screamed, pushing him away from her. “TO MAKE YOU HAPPY? TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU’RE NOT UNCOMFORTABLE?”

“This isn’t something that we need to be fighting in the yard about,” he reasoned, doing his best to stay calm. He was pretty good at it, and it honestly pissed her off even more.

“No, because that’s not how things work on the North Side, right?” she asked, lowering her voice only slightly. “Well, welcome to the South Side, baby! This is how things are done here!”

“Alice – “

“So they’re okay with me being a knocked up slut – as long as they’re 100% certain it’s yours in their eyes – but spending a night in jail is where they draw the line?”

“Alice!” he said, his eyes going wide as he looked around. “I really think we should take this inside.”

“Why, because it’s some big secret?” she asked, unable to control her laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation. Her entire reputation was ruined and all he could think about was whether the neighbors heard them yelling. “They all know, Hal! It’s a secret in the North Side where your reputation matters but not here! Here they all know that I got pregnant!”

“Goddammit, Alice!” he said, finally raising his voice. “Will you please just shut up?”

But she wasn’t going to. She like that he was getting angry. She finally lowered her own voice, getting even closer to him. “They all knew that I was fucking you. And they all knew that I was fucking FP, too. They didn’t care. Probably thought that I wasn’t getting what I needed from you and applauded me for having a real man fuck me hard and good like a little vanilla North Sider never would.”

“That’s enough!” he growled, grabbing her arms and pushing her away from him. She rolled her eyes as he turned away from her, placing a fist on his mouth as he took a few deep breaths.

“What?” she asked, putting on an innocent tone. “It was just getting fun.”

He turned back around, anger straining the muscles in his face. “I don’t know what you’re getting at, Alice. Trying to get some kind of rise out of me or whatever, I don’t care. It’s not going to work. I’m not one of your trailer park boys that you can antagonize. I have some self-control. What the fuck, Alice?”

“If this is what I have to do to get something out of you, then I’ll do it!” she told him. “I want you to get angry over something, because you’re obviously not angry over this article!”

“I am angry!” He said. “I’m going home to yell at my brother for writing it and my parents for letting it be published! You’re welcome to go with me, so you can explain while you were there that night in the first place. I understand. They will, too.”

“It’s a little to late for explanations, now isn’t it?” she asked, shoving the paper in his face. How could he think that just talking it out would remedy the situation? The damage had already been done.

“It couldn’t hurt,” he told her, taking the paper from her and folding it up. “Are you coming or not?”

She crossed her arms, shaking her head. “I’m not going to go begging for their forgiveness. If they wanted me to explain, they would’ve asked me before they published this.”

“Fine.” Hal started walking back to his car quickly, opening the door before turning back to her. “It’s not asking for their forgiveness, Alice. It’s keeping them in the loop. If you had let me talk to them before you went on that drop, they could’ve helped, and this never would’ve happened.”

“What and try to stop me?” she asked. “We both know what would’ve happened if I didn’t go. I was protecting you just as much as I was protecting myself.”

“And they would’ve understood,” he insisted. “But now they just think that you’re typical trailer trash, and that’s on you.”  

With that, he got in the car and closed the door, pulling out of the small driveway just as her mother was coming down the road. He waved at her as they drove past each other, and Alice waited for her mother to park and get out of the car before moving.

“Uh-oh,” her mom said, looking at her daughter’s posture and attitude. “We got trouble in paradise?”

“I’m assuming you saw today’s newspaper?” Alice asked, picking at a stray thread on her sweater. “The one that his parents publish?”

“I did,” she said, walking over to her daughter and placing her hands on Alice’s shoulders. “You don’t really think he had any say, did he?”

“Of course not,” Alice said, shaking her head. “But he wants me to go over there and beg for their forgiveness or something. Like it’s gonna change the fact that my mugshot is on the front page.”

“Maybe you should,” her mom suggested with a shrug. “I know why you were there, and I’m assuming that Hal knows why you were there, since he’s trying to make amends instead of fighting with you about it. Maybe if they know, they’ll at least apologize, and you can put it behind you.”

“Put it behind me?” Alice asked, stepping back from her mother. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“Because that’s what you do,” she said, her voice gaining a stern edge. “You got something good with that boy, a path that leads you out of this hellhole. Something I was never able to do. You do what you gotta do to preserve that, all right? If I had a boy like Hal who loved me like he does you, I would’ve done anything I could to not fuck that up.”

Alice laughed, not understanding what her mother was saying. “So I’m just supposed to… what? Forget?”

“You’re supposed to swallow your damn pride,” her mom said, grabbing her chin gently. Alice looked at her mother, shocked at her bluntness. She knew that the woman had it in her, but she had never been like this with her. Had never needed to be. “You got your father’s eyes, but you got his pride, too, and that’s not a good thing. He died because he couldn’t admit that he needed help. Don’t go wasting a good thing just because they don’t understand what it’s like down here. Tell them. Make them understand. Be better than your father, so you can do better than him.”

“Mom –“

“I mean it, Alice,” she continued, letting go of her daughter.  “Hell, I understand where they Coopers are coming from. I’m a parent, too. If I owned the newspaper and you were still dating that Jones boy, I might just do the same thing to him if I didn’t know better, and they don’t know any better. They’re typical North Siders ignorant of what it takes to survive here. So if you really love that boy, you don’t need to be making enemies out of his family. You need to be educating them, and if it takes kissing their asses a little, then do it. Because I would rather die than have you waste everything over some pride.”

She walked past Alice towards the front door, pulling out her keys to unlock it. “Now come on inside. I’m making meatloaf for dinner.”

Alice cleared her throat, trying to keep the tears that had filled her eyes from falling. “In a minute.”

The door closed, and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, looking up and down the street to see if anyone had heard their conversation. She was fine with people seeing her yell and scream, but crying? No one was going to see Alice Smith cry if she had anything to say about it.

“Is it bad that I kind of agree with her?”

She jumped, spinning around to see FP leaning on the side of her home. He had a cigarette in his mouth, and the smell of the smoke mixed with her emotions made her crave one for herself. Pushing the thought aside, she crossed her arms again and glared at him. “How much of that did you hear?”

“Most of it,” he admitted, looking down. “I heard you and Hal yelling from my place, so I was going to come check it out.”

“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “Were you going to defend my honor?”

FP laughed, hard and loud. It was clear and bright, and Alice couldn’t help way it warmed her heart. He always had that affect on her. “We both know that that you don’t need me to protect your honor. I was just wanting to see him get his ass kicked.”

She rolled her eyes, fighting and failing to hold back a smile. “I might have done it, too, if he would actually fight back.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s a good thing that he won’t hit a girl,” FP reminded her, pushing off the trailer and taking a few steps towards her.

That’s not what she had meant. She had meant by getting angry, by matching her fire with his own. The way that she was used to fightin.

The way that it was with FP.

But she wasn’t going to admit that, especially not to FP himself. “Whatever. Why am I the one that has to apologize? Why can’t they apologize to me for publishing that article?”

“I’m not saying that they shouldn’t apologize,” he told her, dropping the cigarette and stepping on it. “What they did was fucked up. But you fucked up, too Alice. We did. Not as bad as we could have, thank God, but we did.”

“You don’t think I know that?” she said. All that was in the paper was disturbance of the peace. FP had somehow convinced the cops that he had assaulted the Ghoulie while she wasn’t looking, so that wasn’t on her record. Everything else was speculation about why she was with the Serpents and the Ghoulies, and the fact that she was wearing a Serpents jacket in her mugshot.

She wasn’t upset about them publishing the charge. It was the fact that the article was ruining the reputation she had built at Riverdale High. “Of course I fucked up. But why can’t I be mad about this?”

“You can be,” he said. “You should be. But tell me something, Alice. Do you really love him like you say you do?”

She searched his face, looking for the trick that must be hiding underneath. Of course she loved Hal. She wouldn’t have stayed with him if she didn’t. She would’ve left him as soon as he suggested that she “take care” of her son at homecoming. If she didn’t love him, she wouldn’t be so upset about what his family thought of her. He wasn’t perfect, but she loved him. It was different from how she loved FP, but she didn’t love him any less.

That’s what she kept telling herself anyway. Because if she was being honest, she didn’t love Hal more, either. So it was different.

Just… different.

“Yes,” she finally said, only finding concern in FP’s eyes. “Of course, I love Hal.”

Pain flashed in his eyes quickly, and she was brought back to the last time she had told him that.

But not like you love me.

It was gone in an instant, replaced with the look he gave her when he knew he was going to change her mind on something. A look she hated, because it always worked.

“Then don’t throw away the sacrifices that you’ve made, Ali. Be the bigger person.”

‘’’’’’’’’’

Alice, Betty, and Jughead sat in a booth at Pop’s, waiting for FP to get back. Alice had tried to make conversation, to make it seem more normal, but they couldn’t really keep it up for long. The thought of what FP was doing was all too present in their minds. So, they sat in silence, each trying to control their own chaos.

Stealing a glance at Jughead, Alice wanted to apologize to him. For involving his father, and for being so cruel to him. It was never his fault that she disapproved – well, not until he joined the Serpents anyway – but she knew that it had effected the relationship that they both had with Betty. She was just bitter. She didn’t want her daughter to date a Jones, because it hadn’t ended well for herself.

But the part that she had always hated admitting was just how little FP had to do with it. He had tried. God, had he tried. But as much as she had loved him, she had pushed him away. Because she thought Hal would be better for her. The he would be more stable, more secure. In some ways she had been right, and she knew that as she watched FP’s life implode from a distance. But her life was imploding, too – in a different way, but with the same possible results – and being married to Hal didn’t help the situation. He wasn’t even there for her when she needed him.

FP was, though. Despite how bad she had hurt him, and how much they acted like they hated each other. He was there for her. He was protecting her, and he was doing it seemingly without a thought to the consequences to his life, only the lives of the people around him. Something that she knew Hal would never do.

And after over twenty years, here she was, comparing FP and Hal like she was in high school again. Like she was weighing the pros and cons of who to choose. Like nothing had ever changed.

The bell to the door rang, and she looked back to see FP coming in. Relief flooded her, the fear that had been holding her finally receding some. He looked exhausted, his shoulders sagging in his leather jacket as he walked over to them and ran a hand through his hair. She couldn’t look away from him. He looked so much older, but so much like the FP that she had known so well.

“It’s done,” he stated after falling into the booth, sitting next to her. She sighed in relief, closing her eyes.

“Jeez, Dad,” Jughead said, his voice shaky. “You reek.”

He wasn’t wrong. There was a decidedly strong chemical smell coming from FP, and a part of Alice wondered what it would take to get it out of his jacket.

“It’s the sodium hydroxide,” FP explained, lifting his head up as he spoke. Up close he didn’t just look exhausted, but broken, too. “In a week, there’ll be nothing left. Not even his teeth.”

That was the breaking point for Alice. This whole thing was too much for her. She had dealt with a lot growing up, but murder? And then covering it up? She had never gone that far. But FP had. He had never murdered anyone, but he had cleaned up the mess, and that broke her heart. He had just risked everything for her, even after everything that she had done to him. How much she had hurt him.

But what he had done wasn’t nothing to him. She knew that. They may not have been close in twenty years, but she still knew FP. The way he was carrying himself, the look in his eyes, the inflection in his tone. This was affecting him to his core, and it was going to sit in his chest and hurt him day after day. Drink after drink.

He was a little more broken, now, and it was all her fault. Again.

She felt her face crumple, but she knew that it wouldn’t do any good to break down at Pop’s. Not for any of them. As much as she wanted to scream and cry at the fact that this is where their lives were now, she couldn’t. It wouldn’t change anything. A man would still be dead. Betty would still have bloodstained memories of her childhood home burned into her brain. Jughead would still be a troubled kid from the wrong side of the tracks, but Alice was finding had a heart of gold. FP would still be a broken, hurting man, who was hurting because of her. It wouldn’t make any damn difference.

So instead, she took a deep breath, voice shaking, and turned closer to FP. It wouldn’t make up for breaking him, but maybe reminding him that he was appreciated would help with something.

“Thank you, FP,” she said, doing her best to contain her tears and failing. “I’m sorry for involving Betty, and that she pulled Jughead into this –“

She stopped short as he grabbed her hand, resting his thumb in between her fingers as he landed on her wedding ring. Her heart skipped as she instinctively went to close her fingers around his thumb, and she had to remind herself how to breathe. His hand was a little big bigger, a little bit rougher than it used to be, but it was still so familiar. She knew that it was probably the heightened emotions of everything that had happened that night – that had happened the past few days – but as a wave of nostalgia hit her, she wanted nothing more than to curl up into his side and cry, even though she didn’t deserve that.

“We take care of our own.”

She looked up at him, surprised at his words. He nodded, making sure that she knew he meant it. Surely, he didn’t still think of her as a Serpent. Right? But maybe he did, and maybe he didn’t just mean her.

The baby’s mine as far as I’m concerned.

“The circle ends here,” he said, looking to Jughead and Betty before she could respond. But he didn’t let go of her hand. His fingers played with hers, twisting her wedding ring back and forth absentmindedly. “No more loose ends.”

She nodded, finally getting herself back under control. Betty leaned into Jughead, the boy putting his arm around her. She wanted to do the same with FP, but she knew that she couldn’t. It wasn’t her place. Not anymore.

She blamed the emotions running through her again, knowing that if it was any other day she wouldn’t be feeling this way. She wouldn’t be sharing a booth with FP Jones. She wouldn’t be spending any kind of time with him. Probably would barely look at him if his son wasn’t dating her daughter.

She most definitely wouldn’t still be holding his hand.

But she was, and she liked it. If she was being honest, she had never not liked holding his hand. But she blamed it on the emotional state nonetheless, and kept holding his hand, not caring what their respective children made of it. She didn’t care. They were safe. They were out of the woods. FP had made sure of that. So, she let herself be comforted by him. Let herself be his comfort.

As they sat in a booth at Pop’s in the middle of the night, coffee on the table, she let herself have what little she could of what she had always wanted, but never truly let herself have.