The Art Of Us

13 • Daydreams

FP made his way down the small stairs that led to the bar, after coming out of his bedroom where he had been all day. Ever since he had woken up he had been working, but nothing seemed good enough. He was in a creative crisis, and though he knew it would come to him one day, all he wanted now was to get some fresh air and a beer.

The bar was crowded, and he noticed the eyes from some Serpents that were following his every step. He ignored them as much as he could, not because he didn't care, but because he knew why they were suspicious. As long as he would get to Alice, things would be fine.

She was at her spot behind the counter, and smiled a little when she saw FP coming her way. They hadn't talked much since their talk at the drive-in, and she wondered if they ever would.

"How was your day?" She asked him, when he sat down in the barstool in front of her.

"Awful. I've been tossing and turning all night and haven't gotten anywhere with work." He confessed, as he exhaled deeply.

However, he wasn't here to talk about his crisis. He needed a break from that, but there was one thing that didn't leave his mind, not even at night, that he badly needed to share with her.

"Can we talk somewhere more private?" He asked her, his voice soft and almost a tad insecure, which she wasn't used to hear from him.

Before Alice could even open her mouth, one of the Serpents made their way over to the two.

"Are you okay, Smith? Do we need to throw him out?" He asked protectively, as he had been eyeing FP all night. If he was bothering the Queen, he would gladly kick him out to the curb. Traitors weren't welcome here.

"No, Blood Eye. It's fine. Keep an eye on the bar for me." She tossed him her tablecloth and gestured for FP to follow her.

If he wanted to talk to her about something between them, she'd rather be alone with him than having Serpents lurk over their shoulders.

She opened the door to her office in the back and flipped the lock, making sure nobody would come waltzing in. Serpents made a habit of that, having questions for her especially when she wanted to be alone. It was out of protectiveness, but sometimes she just wanted some air.

"What is it? You don't still want to leave, do you?" Alice asked him, her voice worried.

She hoped she had convinced him to stay after he panicked, but while she thought about that night, she realized it might be exactly why he wanted to talk to her. Their night of bliss had been left unspoken about.

"No. It's not about Riverdale, or Charles." He assured her.

His mind was somewhere else this time, something he needed to process before he could even let himself think about the son he had, his emotions when it came to having missed sixteen years, or his possible future in this town.

"We haven't spoken about what we did." He said, his voice softening.

FP wasn't one to get insecure quickly, but this was Alice he had been spending an intimate night with, not just any girl.

"And it's all I can think about." He confessed in a whisper, making Alice shiver.

She had been daydreaming about it too, but every single time she did she felt ashamed about the inappropriate things she thought whenever he plagued her mind.

"I've been in a terrible marriage, Alice... but I actually felt alive when we were together." He took a step into her direction, and she involuntarily leant against the end of her desk, as her blue eyes kept following his every move.