Snakes and Ladders - Falice

Cross My Mind

I know I haven't been perfect, but give it some time. 'Cause not a single day goes by where you don't cross my mind. And we spend our lives looking for something we can't find.

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            FP Jones was on the Northside.

He had practically promised himself that he'd never cross the tracks, and it was usually unnecessary to do so. But tonight, seeing that whole town out for the drive-in's closing night, it reminded him just how unsafe Riverdale had come to be. It didn't bother him so much, last year or even a few months ago, when he knew that Jughead was out couch surfing. Did he hate to know that he had failed so fiercely as a father that his teenaged son didn't even know where he would spend each night? Absolutely.

Jason Blossom had been murdered, and only FP knew the truth. He was the only one in that goddamn town who knew just how dangerous Clifford Blossom truly was. The Lodge family was back in town. Hiram was somehow managing to continue doing illegal business even from prison. Someone had broken into the sheriff's house and stole away his entire investigation surrounding the Blossom boy's murder. Archie Andrews, an innocent, was having an affair with his teacher. Things were no longer safe in their fair Riverdale.

He rarely slept, knowing what he knew. But tonight, he knew that he couldn't even let himself rest without knowing that his son was safe. He knew that Riverdale High was a small school, and that the kids all tended to look out for each other. The last thing that FP wanted was for Jughead to get taken in by the wrong people. What if Cheryl offered to let him stay at his house? Jughead would be spending his nights under the same roof as a psychotic murderer.

What if Veronica offered? FP didn't want Jughead anywhere near that family nor the hotel in which they did their business. And what about Alice? If Betty invited Jughead to stay with her, FP's own life would be put in danger. Alice would have his head if she knew that Jughead wasn't living at home. And she'd be even more furious about the fact that she knew she would have to take him in, for Betty and Jughead's sake. FP was no stranger to Alice's motives. She would have a complete fit if their children began spending a little too much time together. She had no interest in watching their children make all their same mistakes.

That left Archie and, though things would inevitably be tense at the Andrews house, it was the safest spot for Jughead. It was past midnight and the streets were completely empty when FP pulled up to the Andrew's house and parked his truck on the curb. He sat there for a moment, trying to regain his sanity and work out what he was going to say to Fred. Better yet, what he was going to say to Jughead. He just needed a minute.

He looked by accident. It wasn't his fault that the Coopers lived in a home with enormous windows that allowed anybody to glimpse right into their perfect life were the drapes not shut. And tonight, they were not. Though the lights inside the house cast a warm glow out onto their yard outside, the overall feeling seemed solemn. All FP had to do was turn his head to the right and there sat Alice Cooper on her high horse that was her kitchen stool with her face in her hands. And in that brief moment, FP forgot all about whatever was going on in his life. His thoughts resided on her, because every so often, she was forced to be on his mind whether he liked it or not.

He felt all the usual things as he observed her from the streets, but it still felt strangling. What exactly did he see? He saw Alice Cooper, Queen of Destruction, breaking down. She sat alone in her kitchen, the pain from her fight with Betty still raw, and she rested her forehead in the palms of her hands as she leaned her elbows on the table. Silent tears streaked her face, leaving faint stripes of mascara but she didn't give a damn. It was all catching up to her.