Request: Alice having a breakdown/ panic attack and won't let anyone help her but when FP arrives he settles her and gives her a sense of security.
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She was currently such a mix of emotions. Not only had she witnessed the death of a teen girl, but the man she had been married to for 20 years turned out to be the killer. Since the night he was arrested, she lost it completely. She hadn't left the house in days and avoided contact with anyone. She felt she was the one to blame for her ex husbands actions, making herself believe she could've done something to change the course of horrific events.
On the other side of town, jughead had just gotten out of hospital. He suffered various injuries yet made a speedy recovery after being attacked by the ghoulies. He put on a brave act and tried to pretend as if he was ok.
Betty was on her way home. It had been a rough couple of days, but she was finding a way to get past it. Her dad may be a serial killer, but she wasn't going to follow in his dark footsteps. She convinced herself she was different and better than that.
She had just returned from the store and it was about 8pm. Usually around this time there was no sound to be heard. People were way to caught up in their own lives to wonder around the streets of Riverdale, however recently all of that changed. As soon as she was in a 50 meter radius of her home, she could hear the voices of people crowded around her house seeking answers. She wasn't surprised as this had been going on for the last few days, but what surprised her was that as she got closer she could hear an all too familiar voice shouting over the top of them. She quickened her pace and as she reached her house she could see her mother standing outside waving her arms around.
She was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing yesterday and the day before that. Her hair was a mess and her cheeks were stained a reddish colour.
Betty felt bad for her. She aggressively began shooing the people away and pulled her mom back inside.
"Mom, what were you thinking?"
"Elizabeth, I can't deal with all of this at the moment.. it's too much"
"I know mom. Don't worry, I'm here for you"
Betty pulled her mother into an embrace and tried calming her down a bit. They headed over to the couch and sat down, Betty immediately texting Jughead telling him she could do with his company.
Moments later, Jughead was at their front door, accompanied by Archie and Veronica.
„Hey, everything ok?" Jughead asked concerned as he noticed Alice sitting on the couch, her head in her hands.
„It's just really stressful" Betty replied honestly, knowing what her mother was going through.
Veronica and Betty went and sat down next to alice, trying their best to comfort her. It wasn't helping though. People began returning, and the shouting was getting louder.
Alice wasn't sure what to feel in that moment. Anger? Hatred? Anxiety? Scared? Her thoughts began bubbling up, until she couldn't take it anymore. She was thinking about so much, that it became unbearable. It was all too much for her.
While she was trapped in an endless loop of negative thoughts, Veronica noticed her breathing was becoming unsteady. Betty noticed too and they both tried talking to Alice, but she was having none of it.
She began hyperventilating, and escaped from their grasp. She began pacing around the room, completely ignoring the teens who were trying to control the situation.
Suddenly tears began streaming down her face, and she was unable to control her breathing.
„Mom, I think you're having a panic attack" Betty asked, concerned
„Betty.. I-„ Alice's voice cracked as she tried to speak a few words.
She was interrupted by the loud voice coming from outside the house. It was unlike the others. Alice was curious to know who was stirring up even more commotion so she walked over to the door. She gently placed her hand on the door handle, ready to yank it open and once again scream at the people gathered outside of the house.
All of a sudden, the voices were silenced and the only sound was Alice's heavy breathing and crying. The kids sat on the couch not wanting to interfere in case they said something wrong.
Alice's hand hovered over the door handle, when suddenly the handle turned and the door swung open. It was none other than FP. He had originally come to look for jughead, but his attention was turned to the broken woman standing in front of him. He looked deep into her eyes, there was no need for communication. He knew she wasn't ok, and without hesitation pulled her into an embrace. It was an old habit of his.
Back when they were in Highschool, she suffered from various panic attacks and FP was always the one to help her through them. There was something about his presence that was so comforting to her, that it calmed her down right away.
He had one arm around her waist, and another was around her neck, gently stroking her hair. She buried her head into the crook of his neck, letting out all of her anger and frustration. He closed his eyes and just held her.
It hurt him just as much because he hated seeing her this way. She was the one person he cared about the most, and seeing her so hurt and distraught had a big impact on him.
She started to loosen up a little, her cry's became quieter and her breathing rhythm became more or less steady again.
Once she was more calmed down, he said a few words hoping to get a reaction and for her not to break down in tears again.
"Shhh.. baby you're ok"
Once again, it was an old habit, which at first didn't even occur to him. It was one of the many nicknames he gave her. He didn't regret saying it though. He knew it would probably calm her down.
It did indeed help. The moment she heard those words leave his mouth she instantly felt a wave of something flow through her body. She wasn't sure what it was, but it definitely cheered her up knowing that he still cared about her so deeply.
Still in a tight embrace, he pulled away from her slightly. She gave him a little smile which immediately caused him to crack a smile himself. He pulled her back into him and planted a gentle kiss onto her forehead. It lasted a few seconds until he finally looked across the room to see 4 awestruck teenagers staring right at him.
Betty and jughead were beyond confused as they believed their parents were worst enemies. To see FP comfort her, and to see Alice let him was something neither of them were expecting.
FP wasn't really sure what to say at this point.
"Uhmmm, why don't you guys head upstairs.. I think I can handle this one"
He kept Alice in an embrace until the teens left the room and headed upstairs. He slowly released and took her over to the couch.
*****
"Surely he's got her calmed down by now" Archie said looking at the clock.
It had been around half an hour and they weren't sure if they should go back down or not. Betty was eager to see if her mother was ok, and jughead was eager to know why his dad was there in the first place.
"Yeah, let's just go back down and see" Betty replied.
The four headed back downstairs and stopped in their tracks as they saw Alice and FP cuddled up on the couch. She was practically laying on top of him, and his hand was gripped tightly around her waist, almost on her butt. His other hand was intertwined with hers.
