It's Nice To Have A Friend

11) Your Soulmate Is On Their Way

Fred had made his way into Pop's Chocklitte shop, to give into his urge to eat a burger for lunch that day. While working at his father's company Andrews Constructions, he definitely worked up an appetite. Where better to go than the best diner in the whole universe?

Alice was working that day, and she beamed when she saw her friend come in, who took a place in his favorite booth.

"My favorite customer!" She chirped, while walking towards him with a menu, that she gladly handed over.

"You say that to everyone, huh?" Fred said, laughing a little.

"Only to you, Fred." Alice winked.

"Is it going to be your usual?" She questioned, when Fred didn't even took a look at the menu. He nodded, he always had the same meal.

"I have my break in a few minutes, would you mind if I'd join you?" Alice asked, hoping to spend some time with him. They hadn't really hung out just the two of them since her return, and she had missed that dearly.

"Yeah, come join me. It beats eating alone." He gave her a warm smile, and waited for her to return with their meals.

Alice took off her apron when she returned with the burgers, as she put them down on the table between them.

"So, what is going on with you? You've been working a lot at your Dad's, right?" She asked, seeing some dirt on his hands that told her that it was a lot of physical work.

"Yeah... he's getting older, you notice it in everything. But it's nice to work together, I can really feel how much he loves teaching me." Fred smiled by the thought of his old man. They definitely had a special bond, and working together at his own company only made that bond grow stronger.

"And how is your job going here?" He asked in return, knowing that it must have felt like taking a step back.

"I'm loving it. It makes me feel like my old self again, you know?" Alice smiled brightly.

He had expected for her to be looking for something else, that Pop's might have been a temporary stop, but her eyes were twinkling. She truly enjoyed it.

"And it's all thanks to the most amazing friends ever." She gave him a soft smile.

Alice wasn't even sure where she would be without them. Fred didn't see it as a big deal. All was in the past, they knew who she really was and loved her for that.

"Hey, can I ask you something personal?" Fred wondered, before overstepping completely. Alice nodded, while eating a fry.

"What is in it for you? With whatever is going on with you and FP? I mean, him acting this way sort of makes sense to me, but I don't understand why you would be okay with this." He said, hoping that it would be okay to speak about this issue with her.

FP had always been a master in ignoring his feelings, Fred knew that. To see him ignore his broken heart, one he had never gotten over, was no surprise to him. However, he would have never thought Alice would agree with doing the exact same thing and turn a blind eye on their past.

"He makes me feel good." Alice said softly. It was a simple explanation, but it was the most honest way of telling how she felt.

"FP and I both are in a vulnerable place. We can't be anything more, right now." She told him, while casting her eyes away to her fries, to avoid having to look at him and see all the questions in his eyes.

"But do you want that?" Fred wondered, knowing that there was something more, something with deep romantic feelings going on between them.

"If you're asking me if I loved him... I did. Of course I still do. I never left because I stopped loving him. I left because I did that a little too much." She looked up at Fred with tears glossing in her eyes.